Ricky Hatton- 43-1 (31KOs)
Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton first began boxing at the age of 11, the first gym he started out was ran by Billy Graham, still his trainer almost 20 years later, who was impressed by his power and aggressiveness for such a young boy.
His professional career began on 11th September 1997, where he defeated journeyman Colin McAuley in the first round after McAuley retired in his corner. He went onto impress for several more fight before getting his first shot at a title, the Vacant British Light-Welterweight title. He fought Jonathon Thaxton, who is a tough customer with very good power. In a tough fight, where Hatton was severly cut, he came through to win a Unanimous decision. This lead to a shot at the WBU title, where he defeated Tony Pep within 4 rounds after Pep couldnt handle Hatton's furious body attack. After winning the WBU title, he went onto defend the title 15 times defeating good fighters such as Jason Rowland, Joe Hutchison, Eamonn Magee, Vince Phillips and Ben Tackie. The fight with Eamonn Magee was a particularly tough one, Magee was a slick southpaw who was a very good counter puncher, Hatton was knocked down for the 1st and only time in career in the opening round, and also had some unsteady times in the 3rd. Hatton went onto to pull out a UD.
After 15 defences and 4 years of holding the WBU title, Hatton finally got his shot at a major title in his 39th pro fight. He fought with Kostya Tszyu for the IBF Light-Welterweight title. Tszyu was considered a top 5 P4P fighter by most. Tszyu was a heavy favourite, but Hatton was relentless and fought hard in a close fight. After 11 rounds of a very close fight, Tszyu didnt return from his corner after the 11th round and it lead to a mad cheer from 22,000 Hatton fans at the M.E.N arena in Manchester. Hatton further enhanced his reputation, by stopping Carlos Maussa in the 9th round. The performance wasnt vintage Hatton, but he got the job done.
He was now IBF and WBA Light-Welterweight champion, but he relinquished those belts later in 2005 to step upto 147lbs Welterweight decision. He fought Luis Collazo for the WBA Welterweight title, in a less than impressive performance, Hatton struggled his way to a close UD despite knocking Collazo down early in the 1st. This decision was hottely disputed, but Hatton soon claimed he wasnt comfortable at 147 and dropped the title to return to 140lbs.
After stepping down to his more natural weight 140lbs a fight with Jose Luis Castillo was made for June 2007, he first fought a tune-up fight for January 2007. This was against Juan Urango. Urango was a tough Colombian, but Hatton dealt with him easily in a very unconvincing performance. Hatton was hurt to the body a couple of times, but other than that it was an easy UD. This performance didnt really impress, and Hatton ran out of steam very early. In June 2007, he fought Jose Luis Castillo for the IBO Light-Welterweight title. In an entertaining first few rounds, Hatton took the initiative with some good power shots. Hatton took Castillo out in the 4th round, with a brutal body shot. Critics write off the victory as Hatton fighting a past it Castillo, but JLC was taken out by one of the most brutal body shots ever seen.
December 8th, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was the stage for Hatton's mega fight. He squared off against Pound4Pound #1 fighter in the world and WBC Welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jnr. In a relatively one-sided bout, with Hatton winning 2-3 rounds at the most, Mayweather repeatedly hit Hatton with powerful right hands. In the 10th round, Hatton lunged in looking for a KO when Mayweather caught him with a left 'check' hook which sent him to the floor. He got up, but the referee stopped the bout immediatly after as Hatton just fell to the floor.
Ricky Hatton will return to the ring on May 24th in his hometown of Manchester. He will fight at the City of Manchester football stadium, and the opponent is expected to be Juan Lazcano.
Updated by LeedsLad (2/25/08)
Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton Fighter Information
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