by James Slater: Though he has yet to make up his mind about fighting again or not, it is clear the 10th-round stoppage loss he suffered at the hands of Floyd Mayweather Junior still plays on the mind of Ricky Hatton; far more than the even more devastating and much quicker KO loss he suffered at the hands of Manny Pacquiao in his last fight.
Hatton has yet to make a decision as to whether or not the brutal 2nd-round KO will end his fine and exciting pro career, but he has made it clear that if he were to come back, Floyd Mayweather would be his prime target.
In a new interview with BBC radio, Hatton, now a successful promoter, said he’d need some big motivation to want to return to the ring, and that “Money” is one fighter who would give him that motivation.
“If I decide to come back it would need to be a fight to excite me. One person on my hit-list is Floyd Mayweather,” Hatton told BBC radio. “It would have to be against one of the very best fighters in the world, and I’d like another go at Mayweather. He’s improving all the time, but I thought I was a little bit hard done by to lose in the first fight. The referee didn’t let me impose my style on him.
“I’d rather go in there and find out whether it is me just feeling sorry for myself or whether I was treated a bit harshly. That’s what being a champion fighter is all about. Normally you would run a mile from a fighter that’s knocked you out, but I want to get in there with him again if I do decide to come back.”
And though a rematch is probably unlikely (you never know for sure in this game; maybe Floyd would take a return if Ricky did get back in fighting shape?) a Hatton revenge win is surely even more unlikely. But Hatton, a real warrior without question, says he’d rather risk losing to Mayweather for a second time, just as long as he tried to get revenge.
“I’d rather get back in the ring with Mayweather, have a go and get knocked out again because I can say I tried,” Ricky said.
As for his loss to “Pac-Man,” Hatton says that loss also hurts, partly due to him not being at his very best for the May fight.
“I was very disappointed with my last fight [Vs. Pacquiao]. I think I was over-trained, through no fault of my own, and I don’t think Manny Pacquiao beat Ricky Hatton at his best. It’s only been six months since the fight. I’m just sitting back and having a rest, and waiting for my feet to start tapping again.
“Once I’ve recharged my batteries after Christmas, I might give it another go.”
Hatton did say that a six month break does not constitute a retirement, and that if he gets the urge to do so, he will fight again. Do the majority of his fans want him to though? And would the most attractive fight to Hatton himself – another one with Floyd Mayweather – prove to be a seller?