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 onerous as anybody I have been within the health club with. A real skilled when he was in coaching. Weight-reduction plan, the whole lot… he did the whole lot to perfection.
He had an important boxing mind I believe, a really underrated skillset. Everybody knew he was a fearsome physique puncher, very robust, however he was a unbelievable boxer when he wanted to be as nicely.
There have been fights he received when in all probability he may have pulled out, he was unwell. I keep in mind the Juan Urango battle, he in all probability ought to have pulled out actually. It was a world title battle, it was his Las Vegas debut, a variety of stress on, and he went by way of with it.
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Boxing supervisor and promoter Frank Warren pays tribute to Ricky Hatton.
Even the Manny Pacquiao battle: in hindsight he in all probability ought to have pulled out of that battle, 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 incredible fighter to be round as nicely, the way in which he dealt with the stress, the way in which he dealt with all of the media obligations.
He actually was a personality as nicely. So humorous, a prankster within the health club. Boxing’s a tricky recreation and a lonely recreation however whenever you’ve obtained characters like Ricky within the health club with you, sharing the laughs and sharing the journey, it makes every single day 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 good friend 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 battle. Even the those who knew Ricky was the actual deal and believed in him and thought he was world class, I do not imagine they thought he was fairly adequate 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 conflict of attrition. He jumped on Kostya Tszyu. He did not give him the room or the time. He dragged him into Ricky Hatton’s battle, 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 enviornment 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 standpoint 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 battle in Las Vegas, it was chaos, in a great way. I keep in mind a number of 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 imagine it, the assist, the noise, it was unreal.
He got here up quick towards Mayweather however he pushed Mayweather. That was in all probability one in every of Mayweather’s finest performances. Ricky introduced the most effective out of Mayweather along with his aggression and what he delivered to the battle. And that was prime Mayweather.
He had a connection to his followers, perhaps 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 whenever you’re that well-known and everybody desires a chunk 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 believe he genuinely loved it. He genuinely was grateful and by no means forgot that.
