The World’s Title is challenging and Sky Sports‘Pundit Matthew Macklin was part of Ricky Hatton’s camp. He shares his memories of the journey …
A phenomenal, phenomenal fighter, also big guy. I am sad and shocked and my heart goes out to his family. I can only imagine how they feel.
It was well documented that he lived life to the fullest, but he trains as hard as someone I’ve been to the gym with. A real professional when he was on training. Dieting, everything … he did too perfection.
He had a big boxing brain, I think, a very underrated skill. Everyone knew he was a terrifying body sticks, very strong, but he was a fantastic boxer when he was going to be.
There were matches he won when he could probably have pulled out he was ill. I remember the Juan Urango fight he should probably have pulled out really. It was a world’s title match, it was his Las Vegas debut, a lot of pressure on, and he went through with it.
Even the Manny Pacquiao match: In afterwards he should probably have withdrawn from this match and the train did not go well. But he didn’t. He soldier through it. He went the trip in every sense of the word.
A great fighter to be with the way he handled the pressure, the way he handled all media obligations.
He was really a character too. So funny, a prankster in the gym. Boxing is a hard game and a lonely game, but when you have characters like Ricky in the gym with you, sharing the laughter and sharing the journey, it makes every day a joy, really as opposed to a difficulty.
Kostya tszyu … It was one of the special nights of British boxing history. Definitely in my time was that the night.
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Former Boxer and Sky Sports Boxing Pundit, Spencer Oliver pays tribute to the close friend Ricky Hatton after his passing at the age of 46.
It was late at night because it had to fit us primetime -tv, the men unpacked in Manchester, Kostya Tszyu and once that had already cemented its legacy.
Not many people gave Ricky Hatton a chance in this match. Even the people who knew Ricky was the real deal and believed in him and thought he was world -class, I don’t think they thought he was quite good enough to beat a legend, a great time like Kostya Tszyu.
But it was his evening, he would not be denied, and he made it a degradation war. He jumped on Kostya Tszyu. He did not give him the room or the time. He pulled him into Ricky Hatton’s battle, close quarters and persistent. It was violent, it was violent, and in the end he wanted it more.
It was his time, and he had 20,000-afflicting fans inside this arena who was willing to him with every battle. At the time, I was very close to Ricky, we trained together, I was part of his team and from my point of view as a young fighter who came through, just to absorb this experience and learn from it, it was incredible.
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Sky Originals about the incredible story of Ricky Hatton.
For the Floyd Mayweather fight in Las Vegas, it was chaos in a good way. I remember some of the blackjack dealers, they said they had been there 30, 40 years and they had never seen anything like it. They couldn’t believe it, the support, noise, it was unreal.
He came briefly against Mayweather, but he pushed Mayweather. It was probably one of Mayweather’s best performances. Ricky brought the best out of Mayweather with his aggression and what he brought to the fight. And that was Prime Mayweather.
He had a connection to his fans, perhaps more than anyone before or later. He really embraced it all. He never forgot his roots, he was very much a man of the people.
And it’s not easy when you’re so famous and everyone wants a piece of you. But he always tried to make sure he never forgot himself, he always had time for people. I think he really enjoyed it. He was really grateful and never forgot about it.