Hatton calls out Oscar or Pacman

Eurosport - Mon, 24 Nov 07:21:00 2008

Ricky Hatton is targeting a Wembley showdown with either Oscar De la Hoya or Manny Pacquiao following his impressive victory over Paulie Malignaggi.

BOXING 2008 - Ricky Hatton of Britain celebrates with musicians Liam and Noel Gallagher after defeating Paulie Malignaggi of the US in a junior welterweight bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas - 0

De La Hoya and Pacquiao will be the next boxers to meet at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on December 6 that saw Hatton dominate over 10 rounds before Malignaggi's corner stepped in to stop the fight after just 28 seconds of the 11th.

It was his the 45th victory and 32nd stoppage of his career and its convincing nature - he had been given nine of the previous 10 rounds by all three judges - banished the demons of Hatton's sole professional defeat, a 10th-round stoppage at welterweight to Floyd Mayweather Jr in the same arena last December.

It also put to rest thoughts that, following a less than spectacular comeback win over Juan Lazcano in May, the 'Hitman' was past his sell-by date at age 30.

Instead of contemplating retirement, Hatton is now focusing on a fight with either Pacquaio or De La Hoya to re-establish his credentials as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.

"Let's hope it's the winner of Pacquiao-De La Hoya," Hatton said when asked about his next opponent. "Who am I to say who will win that?

"In fact, the winner or the loser will be a good fight to be honest.

"I'll be in Vegas for that and watching it with interest and maybe we can get it at Wembley, a 100,000 crowd, and with that performance I'm right there now in the reckoning.

"It has been mentioned a few times so maybe I will get my wish and become the best pound-for-pound fighter."

Hatton believes a fight one of those two main draw fighters is the only realistic option for him now he has taken care of Malignaggi, his nearest rival at 140 pounds.

"There's a lot of good fighters in the junior welterweight division now," he said. "There's obviously Paulie Malignaggi still, there's Timothy Bradley and Kendall Holt but with Bradley and Holt, I don't mean to be disrespectful but they're not household names yet, they've just won their titles so they're not up there like Manny Pacquiao or Oscar is.

"With Oscar and Pacquaio you're looking at two fighters in the pound-for-pound top 10.

"I said I wouldn't go up to 147 but if it's Pacquaio we could do that fight at 140. Oscar's not boxed at 147 for a bit but I'd like to think with that performance that I've put myself firmly in the shop window.

"I'm not saying fights can't be made at junior welterweight but if I'm going to have maybe a couple of years left at this game, what sort of champion would I be if I turned my back on fighting someone like Oscar or Manny Pacquaio?

"I fought Floyd Mayweather and I lost to the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, I had the comeback fight and got rid of all those demons and I've come back to Vegas, the scene of the crime, and I've done the business against my nearest rival in the division.

"I think that speaks volumes about what I'm all about."

Hatton believes his performance against Malignaggi has not only restored his self belief but has also answered the critics who believed he would struggle to adapt to a new trainer and also make weight.

"I needed a fight like this to bring my confidence back," he said.

"Everyone becomes an expert. They were going on about my weight-making before the Kostya Tszyu fight and that was three and a half years ago but they're still going on about it.

"I think I needed to go back to basics. My performances were a little bit too 100 miles per hour, there was not really a lot of method to what I was doing, I was just tearing in there.

"I watched the videos and I thought, 'right, I need somebody to work on my technical side, that's going to slow me down'. I said to myself, 'Ricky, if you carry on like that you're going to be finished in six months' so I looked around and the best man in the world for me was Floyd Mayweather Sr.

"I think he's showed in seven weeks what he can do for me and what will he do for me in one or two fights, when we've got used to each other?

"I've done the business against my nearest rival, someone as quick and as talented as Paulie Malignaggi, and to put everything into practice like I did, I can't really complain too much.

"I think it was quite a good performance."

Sporting Life / Eurosport

Comment 14 - 33 of 33

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  1. pacman - hatton would be a war!!!!both boxers dont have withdrawal in their phases of war,neither do they have defence.the only tactics they have is advance and attack.lets see it happen regardless of the result of pacman -delahoya.

    From franklin b concience, on Tue 25 Nov 6:52AM

  2. weldone hatton,i knew you would win but malignalli is not the fight that would lift you to that pedestal.i suggest you fight de lahoya(the payday is also good)or manny pacman(thats gonna be another hearns-hagler and i will sell my house to get a ticket for that bout)or better still a rematch with mayweather.meanwhile your first fight against mayweather was not a crime as you stated bcos i watched that fight and i think mayweather outclassed you.back to malignalli,you see malignali is good but that guy cant punch a hole in wet cottonwool(5 KOs in 25 fights attests to this).you are good hatton but you need a war to register your name firmly in the halls of boxing history.YOU NEED A WAR!

    From franklin b concience, on Tue 25 Nov 6:44AM

  3. rich p name the 30 who ya say is better ha ha its obvious you aint got a clue get a grip ya bum

    From greenfield237@..., on Mon 24 Nov 5:59PM

  4. it seems to me your the sick nite gillam86 ha ha only messing come on thou ricky has never dodged anyone in his life so to say he would throw a sicky against anyone is disrespec full to a man who has a heart like a lion well done ricky but stick to light welter ya awesome at that weight

    From greenfield237@..., on Mon 24 Nov 5:57PM

  5. it woul be toe to toe thats why ricky would win he too strong he would knock pac man out would do it in under 10 rounds aswell

    From greenfield237@..., on Mon 24 Nov 3:50PM

  6. ukadamski, judging by your grammar and spelling, you're just another 13 year old comprehensive @#$%. It's "filipinos" plural and the Country is spelled as "Philippines". You carry on hiding behind keyboard, tough guy, and why don't you learn to read , write and spell English while you're at it?. Made yourself look really clever haven't you?.

    I've seen the pair of them fight quality fighters, from ringside and both recently. Manni would have the edge over Hatton, simple as, and if you had any idea about boxing at any level you'd realise the same.

    A Hatton/ Pacquaio fight would be top billing, a great fight to watch, but the odds stacked in favour of Manni.

    From Smacker, on Mon 24 Nov 2:00PM

  7. Don't give Pacman much of a chance on this one. Lets see how he handles a bigger stronger man first, even though he is well past his best Oscar should fare well. Ricky, stay at 140.

    From PETER H, on Mon 24 Nov 8:19AM

  8. hatton's too slow and one dimensional,,,,pacman will ktfo him in 8th...

    From rey, on Mon 24 Nov 6:38AM

  9. pacqiao is the better boxer, but hatton is so much bigger and stronger, hatton probably would win, but that fight would be every boxing fans dream - the two most attacking fighters in the world, but de la hoya is even bigger and stronger, thats why its going to be a mismatch on dec 6th with de la hoya winning, de la hoya will come to wembley next spring and hatton will probably lose

    From richard m, on Mon 24 Nov 6:03AM

  10. Go Ricky Paquiao!

    From irwin v, on Mon 24 Nov 4:20AM

  11. Well done Ricky Hatton. And this is your biggest shot whose gonna win this " DREAM MATCH " it's your pleasure to meet this 2 living legend boxer. But it whould be better you fight Manny Pacquiao coz you match each other and MAY THE BEST MAN WIN...

    From adriantor, on Mon 24 Nov 4:04AM

  12. manny pacman will win on dec.6 ,I'm not sure if he will accept hatton's fight coz ricky his not there yet .manny pacman's name is on the top 10 ricky hatton maybe top 30 so manny prefer to go to the bigger name or depends but will be a good fight but not close manny pacman will win as well

    From richard, on Mon 24 Nov 1:52AM

  13. Hatton does not stand a chance against Pacquaio!!! Trust me, Hatton will no last Round 5!!!

    From Smith, on Mon 24 Nov 12:43AM

  14. your back! world class trainer and that will make the difference next time! Bring it on!

    From D, on Sun 23 Nov 11:50PM

  15. I was ringside at the Pacquiao / Fashlan 2 k Battery fight in Pasig city, and ringside of Hatton / Mayweather. I am English, but, despite my loyalties to RH, and Pac man is easily the best fighter of the two. He will totally destroy Hatton. Pound for pound Pacman is more techinical, stronger and has a devastating punch.

    If Hatton takes on Pacquao it will be the fight of the decade. I'd put my money of Manni though.

    From Smacker, on Sun 23 Nov 11:20PM

  16. i dont no what this oscar or packman but im sure the Hitman will go sick on either 1 of them n i been reading lenox mite make a return in new year i had my rta accident that nite in 2002 wen lenox beat him i was in hospital for 2+ahalf years then rehab 4 bout 1 and half years

    From gillam85, on Sun 23 Nov 10:16PM

  17. ive seen pac man fight if the hitman took him on it would be toe to toe it would be some fight i would have to go for pacman and im british but i would still be shouting for ricky it would be a hard fight for him if it was de la hoya it would be an easy fight for him i think pac will win next weekend derek

    From derek r, on Sun 23 Nov 9:50PM

  18. bcbgbh gnnfg gngg gnnxz hb x h

    From Dan, on Sun 23 Nov 9:32PM

  19. hitman vs pacman would make for a tasty one. they would be toe to toe for 12 rounds, it would be a barnstormer

    From papillon soo soo, on Sun 23 Nov 9:13PM

  20. fight oscar not pacman you get knock down again ricky

    From derek e, on Sun 23 Nov 8:56PM
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