Froch hoping nothing bad happens to Hatton tonight

09/15/201611/24/2012 ESB

Froch hoping nothing bad happens to Hatton tonight By Michael Collins: Ricky Hatton is taking a considerable risk in making a comeback tonight against Vyacheslav Senchenko after a long period of time out of the ring. IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch is just hoping that Hatton can come out of this fight in one piece and doesn’t get hurt like he was in his last fight against Manny Pacquiao in 2009.

Speaking to the standard.co.uk, Froch said “If Ricky wants to come back that’s his decision. Good luck to him. But let’s just hope he is in as good shape as he looks and that he doesn’t get hurt.”

Hatton does look to be in outstanding condition judging by how good he looked during Friday’s weigh-in. However, there’s a big difference from being in good shape and being in fighting shape. Hatton looks like he’s taken off a lot of weight, but we don’t know how he’ll react when he starts taking head shots and how he’ll look once the fight goes past the 3rd round.

When you’ve got an older fighter that is making a comeback after years out of the ring like Hatton, they tend to look decent for about three rounds.

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Malignaggi turns 32 today; anxious to see if Hatton beats Senchenko

11/24/201211/23/2012 ESB

By Jeff Sorby: WBA World welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KO’s) turns 32-years-old today, and he’s really interested to see what the outcome will be for this Saturday’s fight between Ricky Hatton and Vyacheslav Senchenko in Manchester, England.

Malignaggi has already given Hatton the green lightweight for a world title shot provided that Hatton beats Senchenko and the World Boxing Association responds by giving Hatton a top 15 ranking. That pretty much goes without saying because Senchenko already has a very generous #7 ranking by the WBA, and they’ll no doubt push Hatton up to somewhere in the top 15 if he beats Senchenko tomorrow night.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hatton get a top 10 ranking by the WBA if he wins tomorrow night. The sanctioning fees would be good with Hatton as the WBA champion if he were interested in holding onto the strap if he gets past Malignaggi.

Just to show you how eager Malignaggi is to get the Hatton fight, he’s already in England right now and attended the Hatton-Senchenko final press conference this week when Senchenko failed to show up. Malignaggi will obviously be at the fight, and likely hoping Hatton looks sensational in winning. Malignaggi has no interest in fighting Senchenko again, because he already gave him a bad thrashing last April in stopping him in the 9th round in Ukraine.

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Haye to Hatton: Don’t listen to the haters

09/14/201611/23/2012 ESB

Haye to Hatton: Don't listen to the haters By Michael Collins: Former two division world champion David Haye gave a bit of encouragement to Ricky Hatton for his fight on Saturday night against Vyacheslav Senchenko, telling him not to listen to the criticism from fans and the media about his comeback fight.

Haye said on his site at hayemaker.com “Wishing you good luck tomorrow. Don’t listen to the haters. Just go out and do your thing. I know you wouldn’t be coming back if it wasn’t for a reason. I think you have a little something left. You have a little something up your sleeve. I wouldn’t be surprised to see. Go out and do your thing. Stay healthy.”

I never really saw Hatton’s problems in the past stemming from confidence or lack thereof. That to me seemed to be the last of Hatton’s problems. I think Hatton’s problems were more of a case of his lack of defense, his wild fighting style, and his inability to take hard head shots. It was a combination of things that was ultimately Hatton’s undoing when he got to the upper levels of the welterweight division. It wasn’t just one thing.

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Hatton talking retirement if he loses to Senchenko

09/14/201611/23/2012 ESB

Hatton talking retirement if he loses to Senchenko By Michael Collins: Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KO’s) could be putting his career on the line in his comeback fight against Vyacheslav Senchenko (32-1, 21 KO’s) on Saturday night at the Manchester Arena. Hatton doesn’t believe in sticking around and wasting his time if he doesn’t have it anymore, and Senchenko, if nothing else, will be a good gauge for the 34-year-old Hatton if he has enough left to compete and capture a world title.

Hatton said this as quoted by thesun.co.uk “I’ll quit if I lose. If the worse happens so be it.”

Hatton’s putting a lot of pressure on himself by coming back and taking on a reasonably good world class fighter in Senchenko. This guy may not be in the same class as fighters like Floyd Mayweather Jr., Andre Berto, Manny Pacquiao – or even Paulie Malignaggi – but he’s definitely a fringe world class contender. Hatton hasn’t seen action in a long time and it’s going to be tough for him to be able to perform at the level that he’s been accustomed to fighting in the distant past.

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Hatton: You’re going to see a better version of me against Senchenko

09/14/201611/22/2012 ESB

Hatton: You're going to see a better version of me against Senchenko By Michael Collins: Former two division world champion Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KO’s) will be making his long awaited comeback on Saturday night against Vyacheslav Senchenko (32-1, 21 KO’s) at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Few fans are expecting Hatton to be at his very best for this fight.

After all, he’s lost 5 stone [70 lbs], and he honestly hasn’t been in a real fight since November 2008 when he beat Paulie Malignaggi by an 11th round TKO. Hatton did fight Manny Pacquiao in May of 2009, but Hatton was blown out so quickly in that fight that he barely had time to throw a handful of shots before he was taken out by a prime Pacquiao.

Hatton said thesun.co.uk “You watch me on Saturday night. I have really turned the clock back…After the defeat against Pacman, people say ‘no way can he come back the same.’ They are fight because this version is better.”

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Pacquiao thinks Hatton is making a mistake in coming back

11/21/201211/19/2012 ESB

By Michael Collins: 34-year-old Ricky Hatton will be coming back this Saturday night to face Vyacheslav Senchenko in a scheduled 12 round bout in Manchester, England. Hatton’s former conqueror Manny Pacquiao doesn’t understand why Hatton is coming back after being out of the ring for 3 1/2 years.

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Senchenko can send Hatton into retirement with a KO on 11/24

09/15/201610/30/2012 ESB

By Michael Collins: Former WBA World welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko (32-1, 21 KO’s) is potentially in a position of power on November 24th in his fight against a rusty and short Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KO’s) at the Manchester Arena (formerly M.E.N Arena), in Manchester, Lancashire, United Kingdom. The 35-year-old Senchenko is in the position where he could put Hatton out of his misery by sending him into a permanent retirement by knocking him cold in this fight.

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Hatton to likely fight Malignaggi for WBA 147 lb title if he can get past Senchenko on November 24th

09/14/201610/08/2012 ESB

Hatton to likely fight Malignaggi for WBA 147 lb title if he can get past Senchenko on November 24th By Michael Collins: 33-year-old Ricky Hatton’s comeback course is predictable at this point. Hatton has a fight against former WBA World welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko (32-1, 21 KO’s) next month on November 24th in Manchester, England. If Hatton wins that fight then he’ll likely be fighting WBA World welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (31-4, 7 KO’s) for his title in early 2013. This is the belief a lot of boxing fans, and Hatton hasn’t said anything recently to give the impression that he’ll do anything else.

Hatton already easily beat Malignaggi four years ago by an 11th round TKO in an easy fight for Hatton. It’s no wonder that Hatton wants to fight this guy again given how badly he dominated him in 2008.

Before Hatton can get the Malignaggi rematch, Malignaggi, 31, has to win his next fight against 22-year-old Pablo Cesar Cano this month on October 20th at the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York. Malignaggi should be able to win this, because his promoters at Golden Boy has been good enough to select Cano from the light welterweight division to face Malignaggi instead of choosing a welterweight for him to fight.

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Ricky Hatton: Chasing the Past

09/14/201609/28/2012 ESB

Ricky Hatton: Chasing the Past By Padraig Ivory: I once saw a black and white photo of Ricky Hatton as he lay unconscious after his last bout in 2009. His ripped abdominal muscles almost gave a cobblestone appearance to the Las Vegas canvas. It was a devastating knockout of the raucously supported English favourite. Now three years later ‘The Hitman’ is preparing both physically and mentally to re-enter the boxing ring.

Envision the early runs. The dew unevenly evaporating from the terrain as the nights shadows slowly recede. The footpaths appear two toned, the white frost fading towards the kerbs edge. His warm breath vaporising as it meets the cooler morning air. The thoughts and dreams of the former champion oscillating to and fro as he paces the city streets.

Turning by Victoria Station he automatically decelerates to a slow jog. Nostalgia weighs heavy. The blurring figure of a younger Ricky Hatton running that same street overtakes the now 33 year old. Inspired by the vivid memory he speeds up, chasing his younger image.

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