By James Slater – There can’t be a single fight fan who has not heard or read about the recent fall from grace of former 140-pound king Ricky Hatton. Now undergoing rehab so as to get himself clean and sober and off cocaine for good, the 31-year-old must be wished the best of luck with his efforts. At this awful time in his life, however, the very idea of even asking whether or not Hatton will ever fight again seems ludicrous almost to the point of being offensive..
But, as quoted by ESPN.co.uk, Ricky’s former trainer (for just two fights – one against Paulie Malignaggi, a win, the other against Manny Pacquiao, a crushing loss), Floyd Mayweather Senior has been talking about just this subject. And, amazingly, Floyd Snr is of the belief that Hatton WILL fight again one day. The father of the also-troubled Floyd “Money” Mayweather doesn’t think Hatton will achieve any success when he makes his inevitable ring return, but he feels that when Hatton’s money runs out, he will indeed be back boxing.
“These guys have a lot of time on their hands when they walk away from the sport of boxing,” Mayweather Snr said. “Most of them also have a little money to spend, and they find themselves into shit like this. Sadly, the money eventually runs out. No matter how much money Ricky made, it will run out and he will be forced to fight again. And with his current situation, when he does return he won’t be able to beat no damn body.”
Personally, I think the chances of Hatton fighting again even once are remote at best. What weight would the 30-something “Hitman” return at? Long gone are the days in which Ricky could get anywhere close to making 140-pounds, and at a weight any higher even a prime Hatton was ineffective. Ricky will do himself proud if he can get himself clean and off the booze and drugs. A ring return would do him no good at all.
And as for Hatton being forced back due to a shortage of money, how does Mayweather know Ricky’s financial situation? Hatton may have gone off the rails just now, but otherwise he is reportedly good with his money – not for him the multi-million pound mansions and diamond encrusted jewellery. With his promotional business doing well, Hatton can earn a nice living from the safe side of the ropes. Yes, I know rival promoter Frank Warren has urged the Board to take Hatton’s promotional licence away because of the cocaine scandal, but there is no word yet that this will actually happen.
Ricky has it in him to get clean, bounce back into public life and continue promoting and working with his growing stable of fighters. There will be no Hatton ring return, though. Nor does there need to be one.