World title challenger and Sky Sports activities’ pundit Matthew Macklin was a part of Ricky Hatton’s camp. He shares his recollections of the journey…
An outstanding, phenomenal fighter, nice man as nicely. I am unhappy and shocked and my coronary heart goes out to his household. I can solely think about how they really feel.
It was nicely documented that he lived life to the fullest however he skilled as arduous as anybody I have been within the gymnasium with. A real skilled when he was in coaching. Weight-reduction plan, every thing… he did every thing to perfection.
He had an excellent boxing mind I feel, a really underrated skillset. Everybody knew he was a fearsome physique puncher, very sturdy, however he was a incredible boxer when he wanted to be as nicely.
There have been fights he gained when in all probability he may have pulled out, he was ailing. I bear in mind the Juan Urango struggle, he in all probability ought to have pulled out actually. It was a world title struggle, it was his Las Vegas debut, plenty of strain on, and he went by way of with it.
Even the Manny Pacquiao struggle: in hindsight he in all probability ought to have pulled out of that struggle, coaching did not go nicely. However he did not. He soldiered by way of it. He walked the stroll in each sense of the phrase.
An excellent fighter to be round as nicely, the best way he dealt with the strain, the best way he dealt with all of the media obligations.
He actually was a personality as nicely. So humorous, a prankster within the gymnasium. Boxing’s a tricky recreation and a lonely recreation however once you’ve acquired characters like Ricky within the gymnasium with you, sharing the laughs and sharing the journey, it makes on daily basis a pleasure, actually, versus a hardship.
Kostya Tszyu… that was one of many particular nights in British boxing historical past. Definitely in my time, it was the night time.
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Former boxer and Sky Sports activities Boxing pundit, Spencer Oliver pays tribute to shut pal Ricky Hatton, following his passing on the age of 46.
It was late at night time as a result of it needed to swimsuit US primetime tv, the MEN packed out in Manchester, Kostya Tszyu an all time nice already who’d cemented his legacy.
Not many individuals gave Ricky Hatton an opportunity in that struggle. Even the those who knew Ricky was the true deal and believed in him and thought he was world class, I do not consider they thought he was fairly ok to beat a legend, an all-time nice like Kostya Tszyu.
However it was his night time, he wasn’t going to be denied and he made it a struggle of attrition. He jumped on Kostya Tszyu. He did not give him the room or the time. He dragged him into Ricky Hatton’s struggle, shut quarters and tenacious. It was ferocious, it was gruelling and in the end he needed it extra.
It was his time and he had 20,000-odd followers inside that area prepared him on with each single punch. At the moment I used to be very shut with Ricky, we skilled collectively, I used to be a part of his workforce and from my perspective as a younger fighter coming by way of, simply to soak up that have and study from it, it was unbelievable.
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Sky Originals on the unbelievable story of Ricky Hatton.
For the Floyd Mayweather struggle in Las Vegas, it was chaos, in a great way. I bear in mind among the blackjack sellers, they stated they’d been there 30, 40 years they usually’d by no means seen something prefer it. They could not consider it, the assist, the noise, it was unreal.
He got here up quick in opposition to Mayweather however he pushed Mayweather. That was in all probability one in every of Mayweather’s greatest performances. Ricky introduced the most effective out of Mayweather along with his aggression and what he delivered to the struggle. And that was prime Mayweather.
He had a connection to his followers, possibly extra so than anybody earlier than or since. He actually embraced all of it. He by no means forgot his roots, he was very a lot a person of the folks.
And it is not straightforward once you’re that well-known and everybody needs a bit of you. However he all the time tried to ensure he by no means forgot himself, he all the time made time for folks. I feel he genuinely loved it. He genuinely was grateful and by no means forgot that.
