BoxRec

Im not kidding, just watching Ringside Special on sky sports and RH is doing his Jabba The Hut impersonation, man that chin is taking over my widescreen tv!

Absolutely no mention of the Eastman/Hopkins fight tonight, though they are interviewing Matt Skelton!

Agreed, I know he's been on holiday but why does he have to get so big!!

It ain't good for his body and may suffer for it later in life..

I was shocked when his face filled the screen (literally). Obviously I've seen him interviewed between fights before, but I was really taken aback at how awful he looked last night. Did you see him punching the heavy bag? Looked like he was punching through water! :x

If somebody looking like that came up to me and said he was a world class boxer i would have laughed him off, im not a boxer but can someone tell me if in between fights you do no training?

For example i realise a boxers training is tough ,and you need time off to allow the body to recover and recharge, but does that mean (as in RH's case by the looks of it) that you completely go the opposite and become a pie muncher?

Would you reccommend light training in between fights so that your fight workout is more concentrated to fighting and not burning off pounds?

I could be talking crap, but as i said im a not a boxer but it seems to make sense in Rickys case to concentrate on beating the hardest punching light welter he's going to face rather than trying to find shorts that fit.

He ceratinly was a bloater in the pics, but to be fair there are 14 weeks to go

And, to also be fair, he usually comes in pretty decent shape, so you have to believe that his camp know what they are doing

That being said, I did take on board Nelson's comments about "living the life" KT and others ( Hopkins is another ) keep themselves fit all the time, that is why they have stayed at the top well into their 30's

Hatton is likely to be shot by 30 given the body's dislike of yo yo treatment

Slapsie

He looked in shocking condition, granted there's plenty of time to the fight but they really should have some sort of weight control between fights. He looked about 12 stone.

Having your weight up and down like that cant be good for you in the long run.

007 wrote:Having your weight up and down like that cant be good for you in the long run.

That's right, some fighters seem to get away with it, like Roberto Duran. But generally I think it's a bad thing for fighters to allow their weight to fluxuate so much.

He deserved a Holiday IMO... with 14 weeks to go he has plenty of time to shift that weight and he does usually get into terrific shape for the weigh in.

Yeah, no doubt he'll be primed at the weigh-in. I'll say one thing I've noticed, though: that fighters who keep perpetual fitness are more likely to get stronger in the later rounds, rather than just 'lasting' until the later rounds...

Hatton was clearly the WORST we have seen him before a fight. He look at least, AT LEAST 12 stone and I'd say he may even have been 12 and a half.

He is fighting Tszyu 15 weeks from today. 15 WEEKS to lose a couple of stone and get back in shape to fight THE BEST light welter in the world.

When I saw Hatton, I wasn't surprised at all.

If he does stuff like that after fights then Tszyu's gonna batter him!

All down to confidence, or rather too much of it, He allows this sort of thing to happen simply because he has got away with it before now.

Its all down to fighting lightweights and has beens, he has never had to worry about too much cos he knew they would get him someone easy.This time it may be his downfall wheras Zoo is in training for the fight has we speak ,Hatton will spend more time getting weight off than training gfor a specific fight..

Personally I think his trainer would off had something to say about it and put a stop to this piggery inbetween fights

s9s wrote:Im not kidding, just watching Ringside Special on sky sports and RH is doing his Jabba The Hut impersonation, man that chin is taking over my widescreen tv!

Absolutely no mention of the Eastman/Hopkins fight tonight, though they are interviewing Matt Skelton!

Ah yes, McFatton definitely looked like a porker yesterday. That man must shovel the pies down with a spade between fights.

Didnt see the programme but I remember so many clever weight watchers saying EXACTLY the same thing about Kostya last summer before he went into training for the Mitchell fight. Like Hatton, his face gets a bit podgy when he's carrying extra weight.

I believe Hatton has just come back from his holiday and has just started training so he's bound to be carrying some extra weight. So many people criticise Hatton for his weight/lifestyle these days thats its worth remembering this:

Hatton fought four times last year and has only had 10 weeks off from training in the last 52 weeks. He has NEVER had trouble making the weight. He has always looked in great shape with the possible exception of the last few rounds of the Vilches fight and he was clear both before the fight and after that he was unhappy that he had to take the fight with much less than his normal preparation time.

He'll be in great shape for June and I think it's a little early to talk about a shorter career and all that stuff. I think its well overdone at this stage in his career and on the available evidence.

It always amazes me when i see fighters like Ricky - professional athletes in the most demanding sport there is - get so out of shape.

I'd think that an athlete simply wouldn't accept the feeling of being so out of shape. It's not a big deal to stop dieting hard and get a little soft around the middle but the huge rounded back and double chin is surely unacceptable.

BTW It's not true about Kostya staying in shape. Does anyone remember seeing that photo of him standing next to LL (i think before LL v VK) where his head was the size and shape of a beach ball. That's why his training camps are so long to get the excess weight off. But he did look in good nick on Ringside.

coneye wrote:All down to confidence, or rather too much of it, He allows this sort of thing to happen simply because he has got away with it before now.

Its all down to fighting lightweights and has beens, he has never had to worry about too much cos he knew they would get him someone easy.This time it may be his downfall wheras Zoo is in training for the fight has we speak ,Hatton will spend more time getting weight off than training gfor a specific fight..

Personally I think his trainer would off had something to say about it and put a stop to this piggery inbetween fights

Tszyu is not in training, I spoke to him two weeks ago and he said he will have a 15 week training camp, but nothing more than a game of tennis here and there at the moment and a bit of jogging.

Whoops, is it only 15 weeks to go now, well he probably is in training or just about to start. Didn't Hatton say he would have a 14 week training camp this time.

Tszyu also ballons up between fights to around 80Kgs but he still jogs every morning and does light weights. Tszyu always goes to the Australian institute off sport for the first 3 weeks of training where he does altitude trianing and gets off a lot of the weight.

I've been saying for a while that Hattons between fights conditioning leaves much to be desired... most fighters put on weight but still look fit, Ricky though turns into a baloon who looks like he'd have trouble running for a bus let alone beating the likes of Tsysu.
Duran could get away with it as he was such a special fighter but also it is Durans weight yo yoing that caused his fall against Leonard in their second bout and was the reason why Duran fought the last half of his career 'Overweight'. He got away with it mostly and still did some great things as a Lightmiddle and Middleweight but Ricky needs to remember he is no Duran.

It can help the body recouperate taking time off, eating well and yes adding weight. Ricky will make weight and has the best conditioning/workrate at 140lbs. 12-14weeks is a long time to hit peak form. Ricky does work hard in the gym.

HOWEVER Ricky will not improve on what he has already shown training like this. And he will eventually not be able to make 140lbs training like this. Hopkins trains year round and its why hes made 160lbs and stayed so sharp for so long.

Phenomenal-Nutrition wrote:It can help the body recouperate taking time off, eating well and yes adding weight. Ricky will make weight and has the best conditioning/workrate at 140lbs. 12-14weeks is a long time to hit peak form. Ricky does work hard in the gym.

HOWEVER Ricky will not improve on what he has already shown training like this. And he will eventually not be able to make 140lbs training like this. Hopkins trains year round and its why hes made 160lbs and stayed so sharp for so long.

Hopkins is 40 - if Ricky fights on until he is that age he would have had over 70 fights: I don't think its likely. Hopkins started late because of his jail time and at Hatton's age he had been pro really only for a couple of years with half a dozen fights under his belt. Hopkins is unique in his focus on longevity in the current game. Tszyu is perhaps a better example but again Tszyu was later turning pro than Hatton and has been fairly selective about his fights which is why he has only 32 fights to Hatton - nine years younger - with 38 fights. Tszyu obviously gets himself into great shape in the gym but even so his longevity is not without blemish - just six fights in the last four years show how he has been slowed down by ageing.

Longevity is such a difficult thing to predict in a fighter. Yes weight management can play a part in it. But its probably well down the list below taking a pounding in the ring, alchoholism, drug abuse, women troubles, crime etc etc. And Hatton stays well clear of all of those things. I'd tip him to be still in great shape in seven years time - if he's fighting, maybe at 147. But he will probably have made more than enough money by then to be retired in great luxury while all the geeks who panned him for being a "fat bastard" are carrying three tires round the middle, saddlebags and arses big enough to obscure their vision.

jamesmcdonnell wrote:Whoops, is it only 15 weeks to go now, well he probably is in training or just about to start. Didn't Hatton say he would have a 14 week training camp this time.

Thank You, y Zoo does go down to camberra has Ben said and his pre fight training regime is awsome.

Difference I think with Ricky and zoo is what makes them blow up and bloat around the face, Ricky inbetween fights blows up and looks fat ,Zoo puts the weight on, but from all acounts its the beer, he loves the stuff its mainly fliuid thats why he can shed it so easy.

I know myself if I lay off the piss for a month and just do a light run round the block a couple of times a week i'll drop 10-15 kilo easy without even trying

Ricky a fat b-stard ?.

Tell us something we don't know.

DG. wrote:Ricky a fat b-stard ?.

Tell us something we don't know.

Keep eating the pies Ricky!

coneye wrote:

jamesmcdonnell wrote:Whoops, is it only 15 weeks to go now, well he probably is in training or just about to start. Didn't Hatton say he would have a 14 week training camp this time.

Thank You, y Zoo does go down to camberra has Ben said and his pre fight training regime is awsome.

Difference I think with Ricky and zoo is what makes them blow up and bloat around the face, Ricky inbetween fights blows up and looks fat ,Zoo puts the weight on, but from all acounts its the beer, he loves the stuff its mainly fliuid thats why he can shed it so easy.

I know myself if I lay off the piss for a month and just do a light run round the block a couple of times a week i'll drop 10-15 kilo easy without even trying

Yes even a slob like me lost 2 stone between Xmas and May last year. Gave up booze for a month, normal (as opposed to gargantuan ) eating and 3 gym sessions a week and I went from 15 to 13 stone. I'm 14 stone 7 now sadly.

The body does need rest periods, but there's rest and there's rest.