BoxRec

Ricky had a fantastic career and he boxed the very top men and had the opportunity as he was very popular and had a pleasing style.

There is no doubt that Junior Witter did pose a real threat for a couple of years; though he's done and dusted now and weren't a very likeable media construct; Junior was a real handful and him v Ricky would've been a great bout.

I don't think that Ricky was 'scared' of Junior but some of the tough fighters he boxed (for fantastic money) would have been a little easier in some respects (for far less money and cudos) than Witter.

freddydoesdallas wrote: I don't particularly want to get into all that either. It's not clear that Mayweather is ducking Manny though, Mayweather is just in the bad guy role with Manny being whiter than white meaning that Mayweather takes all the flak regardless. Both are at fault for this

This.

simon fox wrote:Ricky had a fantastic career and he boxed the very top men and had the opportunity as he was very popular and had a pleasing style.

There is no doubt that Junior Witter did pose a real threat for a couple of years; though he's done and dusted now and weren't a very likeable media construct; Junior was a real handful and him v Ricky would've been a great bout.

I don't think that Ricky was 'scared' of Junior but some of the tough fighters he boxed (for fantastic money) would have been a little easier in some respects (for far less money and cudos) than Witter.

Ricky against Witter would have been a purists fight in England! No matter what anybody says, Hatton had far bigger fish to fry. Go watch the Judah, Alexander, Bradley and even the fornicating El Macchi fights and then tell me he posed a threat.

mickey1975 wrote:

simon fox wrote:Ricky had a fantastic career and he boxed the very top men and had the opportunity as he was very popular and had a pleasing style.

There is no doubt that Junior Witter did pose a real threat for a couple of years; though he's done and dusted now and weren't a very likeable media construct; Junior was a real handful and him v Ricky would've been a great bout.

I don't think that Ricky was 'scared' of Junior but some of the tough fighters he boxed (for fantastic money) would have been a little easier in some respects (for far less money and cudos) than Witter.

Ricky against Witter would have been a purists fight in England! No matter what anybody says, Hatton had far bigger fish to fry. Go watch the Judah, Alexander, Bradley and even the effing El Macchi fights and then tell me he posed a threat.

He did pose a real threat for a couple of years. The Judah bout came too soon (and at short notice) + Zab is about as far from Ricky in terms of style as El Macchi (a 3 round bout when Junior is far from his prime).

Bradley is seen by many as the very best light welter and it were a pretty close bout.

I don't think Junior would have beaten Ricky but it would have been a very good bout and the men in charge of Rickys' career obviously saw him as a bigger threat than the reward.

Congrats to Hatton, a once in a lifetime fighter for me, coming from up the road in Hyde. I doubt we will see his like again, his popularity, the way he caught the imagination and the way he was such a pisshead between fights.

It was a fairytale story that unfortunately soured a little at the end but the journey up to Mayweather was memorable and enjoyable.

There were the WBU years, the intial euphoria and then the frustration and stagnation with Warren using him as a cash cow at the MEN Arena, then finally the step up in the Tszyu fight, some decent enough (if slightly uninspiring) defences and then Mayweather. I remember standing piss wet through in Manchester at the Mayweather-Hatton thing on Albert Square.

I remember driving up the road where Hatton did his runs hoping to see him like some sort of bloody groupie! Seeing Hatton drinking in Ashton, going the Hatton Speaks shows in Press Club and of course the fights themselves - Vegas and Manchester!

I remember thinking at the time, enjoy this cos this is just mad and won't ever happen again. I obviously hope it does but can't see us having a champion like Hatton again. He really captured a wider audience and had me believing he could beat Mayweather, to be fair I think most Hatton fans were 100% bought in to the fact he could beat Mayweather. I shed tears after the Mayweather fight I have to admit.

Enjoy your retirement.

simon fox wrote:

mickey1975 wrote:

simon fox wrote:Ricky had a fantastic career and he boxed the very top men and had the opportunity as he was very popular and had a pleasing style.

There is no doubt that Junior Witter did pose a real threat for a couple of years; though he's done and dusted now and weren't a very likeable media construct; Junior was a real handful and him v Ricky would've been a great bout.

I don't think that Ricky was 'scared' of Junior but some of the tough fighters he boxed (for fantastic money) would have been a little easier in some respects (for far less money and cudos) than Witter.

Ricky against Witter would have been a purists fight in England! No matter what anybody says, Hatton had far bigger fish to fry. Go watch the Judah, Alexander, Bradley and even the effing El Macchi fights and then tell me he posed a threat.

He did pose a real threat for a couple of years. The Judah bout came too soon (and at short notice) + Zab is about as far from Ricky in terms of style as El Macchi (a 3 round bout when Junior is far from his prime).

Bradley is seen by many as the very best light welter and it were a pretty close bout.

I don't think Junior would have beaten Ricky but it would have been a very good bout and the men in charge of Rickys' career obviously saw him as a bigger threat than the reward.

I'm on Foxy's side for this one. I wished Hatton had fought Witter, it's my only complaint about his oustanding career.

keithmoonhangover wrote:

simon fox wrote:

mickey1975 wrote: Ricky against Witter would have been a purists fight in England! No matter what anybody says, Hatton had far bigger fish to fry. Go watch the Judah, Alexander, Bradley and even the effing El Macchi fights and then tell me he posed a threat.

He did pose a real threat for a couple of years. The Judah bout came too soon (and at short notice) + Zab is about as far from Ricky in terms of style as El Macchi (a 3 round bout when Junior is far from his prime).

Bradley is seen by many as the very best light welter and it were a pretty close bout.

I don't think Junior would have beaten Ricky but it would have been a very good bout and the men in charge of Rickys' career obviously saw him as a bigger threat than the reward.

I'm on Foxy's side for this one. I wished Hatton had fought Witter, it's my only complaint about his oustanding career.

Ive gotta agree. Hatton should have fought his very obvious and relatively successful domestic rival in Witter - but he chose not to.

Hatton was realistically expected to lose against Kostya Tszyu, Mayweather and Pacquiao and to that end they were no-lose situations. Huge paydays and it was envisaged that there would be no real criticism of Hatton in defeat against such top fighters.

Lets get it right, Hatton absolutely avoided Witter because he considered it too risky. Hatton knew he had too much to lose in terms of credibility, reputation and future earning potential should Witter have beat him.

Hatton had 47 professional fights and fought against washed-up old fighters or blown-up lightweights far far more than he fought top fighters such as Tszyu, Mayweather and Pacquiao. To that end it is purely disingenuous, misleading and incorrect to suggest that Hatton never had time for a fight with Witter because he was far too busy fighting boxing’s finest pugilists.

Witter was a risk that Hatton wasn’t prepared to entertain. To that end, Ricky Hatton did avoid Junior Witter.

liamlion wrote:

keithmoonhangover wrote:

simon fox wrote: He did pose a real threat for a couple of years. The Judah bout came too soon (and at short notice) + Zab is about as far from Ricky in terms of style as El Macchi (a 3 round bout when Junior is far from his prime).

Bradley is seen by many as the very best light welter and it were a pretty close bout.

I don't think Junior would have beaten Ricky but it would have been a very good bout and the men in charge of Rickys' career obviously saw him as a bigger threat than the reward.

I'm on Foxy's side for this one. I wished Hatton had fought Witter, it's my only complaint about his oustanding career.

Ive gotta agree. Hatton should have fought his very obvious and relatively successful domestic rival in Witter - but he chose not to.

Hatton was realistically expected to lose against Kostya Tszyu, Mayweather and Pacquiao and to that end they were no-lose situations. Huge paydays and it was envisaged that there would be no real criticism of Hatton in defeat against such top fighters.

Lets get it right, Hatton absolutely avoided Witter because he considered it too risky. Hatton knew he had too much to lose in terms of credibility, reputation and future earning potential should Witter have beat him.

Hatton had 47 professional fights and fought against washed-up old fighters or blown-up lightweights far far more than he fought top fighters such as Tszyu, Mayweather and Pacquiao. To that end it is purely disingenuous, misleading and incorrect to suggest that Hatton never had time for a fight with Witter because he was far too busy fighting boxing’s finest pugilists.

Witter was a risk that Hatton wasn’t prepared to entertain. To that end, Ricky Hatton did avoid Junior Witter.

I don't know if Hatton avoided him or whether he was just guided away.

keithmoonhangover wrote:

liamlion wrote:

keithmoonhangover wrote: I'm on Foxy's side for this one. I wished Hatton had fought Witter, it's my only complaint about his oustanding career.

Ive gotta agree. Hatton should have fought his very obvious and relatively successful domestic rival in Witter - but he chose not to.

Hatton was realistically expected to lose against Kostya Tszyu, Mayweather and Pacquiao and to that end they were no-lose situations. Huge paydays and it was envisaged that there would be no real criticism of Hatton in defeat against such top fighters.

Lets get it right, Hatton absolutely avoided Witter because he considered it too risky. Hatton knew he had too much to lose in terms of credibility, reputation and future earning potential should Witter have beat him.

Hatton had 47 professional fights and fought against washed-up old fighters or blown-up lightweights far far more than he fought top fighters such as Tszyu, Mayweather and Pacquiao. To that end it is purely disingenuous, misleading and incorrect to suggest that Hatton never had time for a fight with Witter because he was far too busy fighting boxing’s finest pugilists.

Witter was a risk that Hatton wasn’t prepared to entertain. To that end, Ricky Hatton did avoid Junior Witter.

I don't know if Hatton avoided him or whether he was just guided away.

I think we all know that Hatton is relatively bright and is nobody's patsy. Im very sure he had the final say during his career about opponents - particularly post-Wazza. At the end of the day, Hatton was the fella that stepped through the ropes and fought. If he had wanted to have fought Witter then there would not have been a single person in the world with the power to have prevented the fight.

Who do you think insisted in the clause being entered into Hatton and Wazza's contract for a fight with Witter to be assured??

There can be no suggestion that Hatton didnt have the power to select his opponents, certainly the clause in his contract with Wazza protected Hatton's right/choice in respect of Witter as a future opponent.