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Ricky Hatton still in the market for a new trainer, comeback gaining momentum

Written by: fightsportsonline on 21st January 2010

Ricky Hatton still in the market for a new trainer, comeback gaining momentum | read this item

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By Scott Heritage

Ricky Hatton apparently approached Freddie Roach in his search for a new trainer, and was turned down. The main reason behind this was probably that Roach is hoping for an Amir Khan vs. Ricky Hatton fight in the near future and obviously training both fighters would be impossible.

The news does tell us something of importance though, that Hatton is finally getting serious about his return, and is looking for a top trainer to get him back into shape and perhaps add a few tricks to put up his Mancunian sleeves. For his last fight, a blowout loss to Manny Pacquiao, Hatton was trained by Floyd Mayweather Sr. and said after the fight that he believes his training camp left a lot to be desired.

In several interviews Hatton said that he thought he peaked too soon during his camp, and was then worked too hard by Mayweather for the last few weeks, which he attributes his performance to. Certainly he looked more ragged and aggressive than usual, but then again this could have just come from not being respectful enough of Pacquiao’s punching power given that he was the larger man. Similarly he might really have declined a lot since his heyday and Pacquiao and Freddie Roach seemed to have a flawless game plan.

The next step for Hatton is to shed some of the 200 odd pounds he has let himself get to, which even with full training will take him a few months. This actually shouldn’t be as much of a challenge for Hatton as many people tend to think. The reason being that he is famous for bloating up in weight between fights, and in the past has shown little trouble shedding the weight itself.

I can remember running into Ricky in Manchester a few weeks after the Lazcano fight and he certainly looked to have quickly gained a lot of weight. Whether his performances in the ring have been affected is debatable, and his sluggish movement in the later rounds of his last few outings could also be chalked up to age.

A fight between Amir Khan and Hatton came a step closer this week with Khan signing to Golden boy, where Hatton is thought to still be under contract. Hatton has said that a fight with Khan isn’t an immediate priority, but that he might consider the fight if Khan was no longer associated with Frank Warren, his former promoter and frequent agitator in the press.

At the moment it looks like Hatton will take a warm up match against someone he should have little trouble with while Khan decides what he wants to do with regards to his WBA title and mandatory defense against Marcos Maidana. At first he looked set to leave the title and the dangerous Maidana, behind him, but it was then reported that the fight was being made.

Either way, expect Khan against Hatton in the latter half of 2010, perhaps even as an under card to Mayweather vs, Pacquiao if we all get really lucky. It will be an acid test for Khan and a last dance for Hatton, and certainly a big money maker for both in the British market.

Photo credit: Chris Farina – Top Rank

Topics: Amir Khan, Boxing, Freddie Roach, Ricky Hatton

MRM says:

January 25, 2010 at 1:27 PM

I think the best trainer out there for ricky hatton is Kevin Rooney Mike Tysons former trainer after Tyson left him he went down hill and all Rooney`s fighters have great head movement something hatton has to work on or he will get knocked out again.
KentuckyFloydCHICKEN says:

January 21, 2010 at 11:12 PM

Ah, where’s the chicken? Can’t find any news about the chicken and any info about his next fight. Guess he’s still running.

But c’mon Ricky, just stay retired or you’ll get beat up. You’ve made a lot for the sport. Time to move on.