and now...the battle of the bulge

[rhino222]

ricky has lost, he is obviously gonna be on a downer.his career ahead obviously lies below the welterweight division.......

so...

he is gonne go on a big cruise probably, and umpteen visits to his local pub, drinking umpteen pints of guinness and lager, and rise to about 13 stones again...

and....

he has just fought against the best, he cannot have another fight bigger than that, he knoes even with training going great that he came up short against 'mr big'

so.....

will ricky hatton have the mental power and the physical application to go to the 'diets well' again and boil himself down to a gaunt 140lbs..... for fights that are not as big as he has just experienced? have we seen the last of the hitman in the ring?

[Goz]

Or go for a title at Cruiserweight!

[Chambers2]

ricky has lost, he is obviously gonna be on a downer.his career ahead obviously lies below the welterweight division.......

so...

he is gonne go on a big cruise probably, and umpteen visits to his local pub, drinking umpteen pints of guinness and lager, and rise to about 13 stones again...

and....

he has just fought against the best, he cannot have another fight bigger than that, he knoes even with training going great that he came up short against 'mr big'

so.....

will ricky hatton have the mental power and the physical application to go to the 'diets well' again and boil himself down to a gaunt 140lbs..... for fights that are not as big as he has just experienced? have we seen the last of the hitman in the ring?

I reckon the Junior Witter fight would be enough motivation for Hatton to get back down to 140, IF Hatton were to sign for the fight. The bad blood and the decade of comparisons should give Hatton his spark back.


Hope Ricky enjoys his month of Guinness, Pies and darts. He deserves it after the pressure hes been under for the last few months.

[Khaosai-Galaxy]

I hope he takes a good long time out and doesn't see the inside of a gym for at least 12 months

[DavidPayne]

Fkk me. If Ricky takes 12 months off, he'll look like Andy Fordham by the time he returns. Take a break, yes. But back out in May-June at the end of the football season and before everyone buggers off abroad.

[johnswan1]

Fkk me. If Ricky takes 12 months off, he'll look like Andy Fordham by the time he returns. Take a break, yes. But back out in May-June at the end of the football season and before everyone buggers off abroad.

I agree. It would be frightening to think how much food he'd shovel down his throat and how fat he could get in that time.

If Hatton takes a year out I doubt he will never make Light Welter again. In that case it wouldn't even be worth his while coming back. He'd risk ending up like Gatti where they are putting him in with opponents like Baldomir and Gomez for a farewell fight, and he ends up getting a hiding.

At the very least I think he needs to fight again next Summer and then a final fight (hopefully against Witter) in late 2008 or early 2009.

By the sounds of it he has no plans on retiring just yet though. Maybe we are all over-reacting and just because we have fresh the sight of him getting knocked out and all over the place from a single punch, it becomes much easier to see him get caught and knocked out by other guys we previously wouldn't have given a chance against him.

[steve689]

As soon as Hatton retires he is going to be a dead cert for a cardiac. Same as Vargas, they could meet in the future when a "Super Heavyweight" division has been invented.

[josh fg]

oh good another thread about Hatton!

[Horse]

oh good another thread about Hatton!

What else is there to talk about?

[Spud]

oh good another thread about Hatton!

What else is there to talk about?

Calzaghe v Woods

[rhino222]

have you not had enough of your heroes getting sparked spud.....femi, hatton, and now you want woods laid out...are you silly.

[Spud]

have you not had enough of your heroes getting sparked spud.....femi, hatton, and now you want woods laid out...are you silly.

Nice try Rhino

[emma]

ricky has lost, he is obviously gonna be on a downer.his career ahead obviously lies below the welterweight division.......

so...

he is gonne go on a big cruise probably, and umpteen visits to his local pub, drinking umpteen pints of guinness and lager, and rise to about 13 stones again...

and....

he has just fought against the best, he cannot have another fight bigger than that, he knoes even with training going great that he came up short against 'mr big'

so.....

will ricky hatton have the mental power and the physical application to go to the 'diets well' again and boil himself down to a gaunt 140lbs..... for fights that are not as big as he has just experienced? have we seen the last of the hitman in the ring?

Its his gf I feel sorry for.

[nickd]

ricky has lost, he is obviously gonna be on a downer.his career ahead obviously lies below the welterweight division.......

so...

he is gonne go on a big cruise probably, and umpteen visits to his local pub, drinking umpteen pints of guinness and lager, and rise to about 13 stones again...

and....

he has just fought against the best, he cannot have another fight bigger than that, he knoes even with training going great that he came up short against 'mr big'

so.....

will ricky hatton have the mental power and the physical application to go to the 'diets well' again and boil himself down to a gaunt 140lbs..... for fights that are not as big as he has just experienced? have we seen the last of the hitman in the ring?

Its his gf I feel sorry for.

Why? She has a very comfortable life ahead of her.

[emma]

ricky has lost, he is obviously gonna be on a downer.his career ahead obviously lies below the welterweight division.......

so...

he is gonne go on a big cruise probably, and umpteen visits to his local pub, drinking umpteen pints of guinness and lager, and rise to about 13 stones again...

and....

he has just fought against the best, he cannot have another fight bigger than that, he knoes even with training going great that he came up short against 'mr big'

so.....

will ricky hatton have the mental power and the physical application to go to the 'diets well' again and boil himself down to a gaunt 140lbs..... for fights that are not as big as he has just experienced? have we seen the last of the hitman in the ring?

Its his gf I feel sorry for.

Why? She has a very comfortable life ahead of her.

Yh but hes no looker is he?.

[don't call it a comeback]

ricky has lost, he is obviously gonna be on a downer.his career ahead obviously lies below the welterweight division.......

so...

he is gonne go on a big cruise probably, and umpteen visits to his local pub, drinking umpteen pints of guinness and lager, and rise to about 13 stones again...

and....

he has just fought against the best, he cannot have another fight bigger than that, he knoes even with training going great that he came up short against 'mr big'

so.....

will ricky hatton have the mental power and the physical application to go to the 'diets well' again and boil himself down to a gaunt 140lbs..... for fights that are not as big as he has just experienced? have we seen the last of the hitman in the ring?

Ricky's legacy was not set by his defeat on the weekend - it will however be set by how he responds to it. If he sits down and thinks about it honestly and decides he really does want to carry on then he must realise that changes need to be made. You dont have to be a professional sportsman to take a different attitude to what you eat and drink - it comes with age to all of us. There isnt room in the next two years for a beating like this and THEN eating and drinking too much and THEN more elite fights.

Same goes for shaking up his training a bit. Ricky found the outer range of his limit on Saturday - is he now looking to explore pushing out his range (and fight his way back up the p4p charts over the next three years) or just fighting within it and sign off with a few barnstorming but potentially bloody wins against medium level opposition.

The training set up has been vital in taking Ricky this far. However, if he wants to go further it is surely apparent he needs to find a way of introducing more expertise. Ricky has always been a bit hit and miss with adapting and changing during fights and I just think thats because his training has now become almost solely about reinforcing his strengths not exploring his weakness. Its a lesson Lennox Lewis took on board and the changes he made to his team allowed him to become a great. Don't forget that when McCall knocked Lewis out, Lennox was older then Ricky is now. Lewis was not prepared to allow that defeat or crucially that version of himself to be the final word on his career. Thats the issue that Ricky now faces.