Ricky Hatton will forever go down in world boxing history as the winner of Kostya Tszyu. And although the fight that took place in June 2005 is difficult to classify as legendary, nevertheless, it was he who put an end to Kostya Tszyu’s career. After seven years, this fight still raises a lot of questions, and the most important of them is how could the great Kostya Tszyu lose not even to a boxer, but to some street hooligan?

However, that’s why he lost, because he went out to box, but Hatton offered some kind of mix of boxing, street fighting and wrestling, which Kostya was completely unprepared for. Everyone who saw this meeting probably remembered Hatton’s dirty tricks - his endless clinches, blows on the verge of a foul and an extremely viscous manner of fighting, which has little in common with boxing. But all great champions have misfires, which, of course, includes Kostya Tszyu.

Having won, or rather, exhausted and weakened Tszyu, Hatton decided that he had managed to grab the beard of the Lord himself and he, without hesitation, set off to conquer the world. At first the conquest was successful, and Hatton greatly improved his well-being, and at the same time decided that he was the greatest of the greats. And how could he not decide if he didn’t have a single defeat on his record, and his number of victories exceeded the fifth decade.

But then he met Floyd Mayweather Jr., who also considered himself the greatest of the greats and also did not have a single defeat. In addition, Mayweather, like Hatton, loved to be a hooligan both in the ring and in life, and Hatton’s hooligan manner of fighting did not bother him at all. It was Kostya Tszyu who was confused by Hatton’s wrestling techniques and all sorts of dirty tricks, but Mayweather himself could give anyone a head start in this, since all his life he did nothing but meet in the ring with all sorts of Latin American comrades and former inhabitants of black ghettos. Who did worse things in the ring than Hatton, so Floyd was more than ready for all sorts of “setups”.

In December 2008, Hatton and Mayweather finally met and it quickly became clear that “The Great and Invincible” Ricky, with his primitive street boxing, looked very pale, if not pathetic, against the background of such a versatile and cunning fighter as Mayweather. Floyd successfully neutralized piles, attacks, clinches and other techniques from Hatton’s arsenal, and then, in the 10th round, neutralized their owner, knocking him out.

The first defeat, apparently, did not bring much sense to Ricky, since he immediately rushed to prove to everyone and everything, and first of all to himself, that this was nothing more than an accident. Well, who doesn’t it happen to? Even the sun has spots, and almost all great champions have suffered defeat. Instead of drawing conclusions about his unpreparedness to meet opponents of Mayweather’s caliber, Hatton stubbornly continued to rush to the very top of world boxing. And in the end he broke through. Or rather, I ran into it. For such a prodigy and one of the greatest boxers of all time as Manny Pacquiao.

On a pleasant evening in May 2009, Hatton and Pacquiao met in Las Vegas and competed for the IBO belt. True, the game immediately went one way - Pacquiao was at the peak of his career and literally already in the first round he declassed “The Great and Terrible” Ricky, knocking him down twice. And in the second round, Manny hit Hatton in the head with such a blow from which he could not recover for a long time, stretching out on the floor of the ring. It was not a defeat, it was a complete defeat, unparalleled in the history of boxing. Never before has a boxer with 45 victories and only one defeat been defeated in just one and a half rounds.

Pacquiao's blow not only knocked out Hatton, but also turned his whole life upside down - he quit boxing and, as they say, hit the hardest. From now on, alcohol, drugs and intemperance in everything became his constant companions. For three years he enthusiastically engaged in self-destruction, gained almost thirty kilograms of excess weight and became a favorite of the yellow press, which described with gusto the adventures of the inadequate Ricky.

But then he came to his senses and remembered that he had once defeated Kostya Tszyu himself, and in general was a great champion. And earlier this year, Hatton sent shockwaves through the British boxing community by announcing he was returning to boxing. Hatton began to actively train, lost weight, and soon the name of the “whipping boy” became known, and Ukrainian boxer Vyacheslav Senchenko was invited to play the role. It was with him that Hatton decided to begin his next ascent to the boxing Olympus.

No one in England doubted that their favorite Ricky would beat some Senchenko. "The Legend Returns!" and “The great champion is back in action!” - These are the headlines the British media greeted Hatton's decision with. If they talked about Senchenko himself, it was somehow in passing. And what can we say about some little-known boxer 35 years old, who also lost his last fight by knockout to not the strongest opponent? After all, it is clear as day that the Great Ricky will give him such a beating, after which the Ukrainian will be taken straight from the ring by ambulance.

Senchenko was sent an invitation “to execution”, obliging him to enter the Manchester Arena ring on November 24, where the favorite of the local public, Ricky Hatton, in front of a crowd of twenty thousand, was to teach a master class on cooking “Cutlet Kiev”. The role of the cutlet, of course, was destined for Vyacheslav Senchenko. The Ukrainian athlete appeared in the ring exactly and on time and was booed by Her Majesty’s friendly and politically correct subjects, and then another royal subject, Ricky Hatton, appeared in the ring. Who was greeted with such enthusiasm, as if not yesterday’s drunkard and lover of “dope” had entered the ring, but the hero of Trafalgar himself - Horatio Nelson.

Encouraged by such support, Hatton immediately rushed into his usual wheelhouse, not forgetting, of course, to play dirty tricks in his characteristic manner, and at first it seemed that Senchenko would not survive. The first two rounds, Hatton “pressed” Vyacheslav with all his strength, but he was not going to give up and snarled noticeably. By the fifth round, two bruises appeared on Hatton’s face, making him look not like a two-time ex-champion, but like a sobering-up client. Moreover, over the years of drunkenness and use of illegal substances, his face acquired features characteristic of those who were wasters.

Meanwhile, the fight leveled off, and soon Hatton began to lose. Still, three years of drunkenness and close acquaintance with the assortment of drug dealers were not in vain for him - Ricky lost speed, moved less quickly around the ring, his punches reached their target less and less often, and he constantly clinch, openly trying not to outbox Senchenko, but overcome. Meanwhile, Vyacheslav got used to it, took aim and hit more and more often, fighting at a distance advantageous to himself. In the ninth round, Hatton again began to use wrestling techniques, and both boxers fell, almost continuing to sort things out while lying on the floor, and at the end of the round, Senchenko threw a left hook right into his liver, and the Great Ricky stood on all fours. The referee opened the scoring, but Hatton never got up, and at the end of the counting, he stretched out tiredly in the ring. A moment later, all 20 thousand people at Manchester Arena realized that their favorite had been simply beaten. And not just beaten, but knocked out.

Ricky Hatton after the fight. Photo from the site allboxing.ru

Vyacheslav Savchenko chalked up his 33rd victory, and Hatton his third defeat. Moreover, this defeat shocked him no less than the defeats from Mayweather and Pacquiao - while giving an interview, the Great Ricky almost burst into tears and soon announced that he was now finally retiring from boxing. “My heart is broken,” he said, as if it were not a defeat in the ring, but a divorce case.

Overall, for a man who recently weighed thirty kilograms more and drank heavily, Hatton looked quite good and in the first rounds looked like his old self. But the fact is that the former Hatton was not a boxing ideal and already in his early years was constantly criticized for his fighting style, which was directly and bluntly called dirty. And if such tactics worked with some boxers, especially when the judges turned a blind eye to Hatton’s antics, then when meeting with top professionals - Mayweather and Pacquiao - it immediately became clear that the champion was “naked.” That his arsenal was not rich, that in the ring he fought more than boxed in the usual sense of the word, that he could not adapt to his opponent and if he could not be broken by a wrestling-boxing heap, then Hatton became defenseless. Mayweather fussed with him for a surprisingly long time, while Pacquiao immediately became uninteresting in a boxer of this straightforward, ingenuous type and he did not put the matter aside, putting an end to the fight in the second round.

Senchenko, of course, is not Pacquiao or Mayweather, but even he, being on foreign territory and booed by the stands, overcame the pressure, was able to “read” Hatton quickly enough and ended the fight early with a knockout. For which Ricky should thank him, since Vyacheslav may have saved him from much more serious troubles. After all, if Ricky had won the fight, then with his characteristic straightforwardness, he would probably have begun to fight his way to the top again, not realizing that his time had long passed. And ahead of him would be much more dangerous rivals than the aged Senchenko, whose career is coming to an end.

Summarizing all of the above, it remains to admit the obvious - Hatton did not lose to Senchenko, but lost to himself. Three years of alcohol and drugs had destroyed what little he had as a boxer. And it was extremely stupid and reckless to count on being able to enter the same river twice. Especially if your name is not George Foreman, but Ricky Hatton.

“His Majesty Boxing” delights millions of viewers around the world. And therefore, it is not surprising that this tough sport has its own “stars”, whose fights a huge number of people want to watch. One of these fighters, who became an idol for many martial arts fans on the planet, was the British Ricky Hatton.

Birth

The future leader of the welterweight category was born on October 6, 1978 in the English town of Stockport. His father, Ray Hutton, was a former footballer. As a child, Ricky Hatton began kickboxing, but after he was pointed out that his legs were short, he made the final decision to switch to classical boxing.

Boxing path in amateurs

At the age of 18, Ricky wins the bronze medal at the world junior championship, having suffered only one defeat in the semi-final bout from the Russian Timur Nergadze. And already in 1997, the young English talent became the champion of Great Britain in the junior welterweight among amateurs. In 1999, Ricky Hatton, according to the British Association of Journalists, was awarded the title of best young boxer. And Frank Warren, who is the Englishman’s promoter, generally called him “the best boxer to appear in the British Isles since the era of “Prince” Naseem Hamed.”

Experts know that body blows are the beauty of boxing. Ricky Hatton, in turn, also adopted blows to the body, actively using them during fights. And therefore it is quite logical that the Briton’s idol has always been the famous Panamanian for whom body work was always a priority.

The beginning of a professional journey

Ricky Hatton fought his debut fight on September 11, 1997. It is noteworthy that his opponent could not stand even one round. And just three months later, “The Hitman” (that was Hatton’s nickname) boxed in the American and defeated Robert Alvarez in four rounds on points.

First title

In his thirteenth fight in the pro ring, Ricky defeats Dillon Carew and becomes the WBO intercontinental junior welterweight champion. After which he made 5 title defenses in September 2000 and also took the WBA International title into his hands, defeating Giuseppe Lauri.

Weak sides

Hatton, despite all his punching power and power, still had one extremely unpleasant tendency for a professional boxer - receiving deep cuts. In the fight with Thaxton, in which our hero turned out to be stronger, he was overtaken by an injury at the beginning of the fight. After the fight, Hatton received 28 stitches above his left eye because there was a severe cut there.

Dominant Champion

On March 26, 2001, Hatton defeated Canadian Pep and took on the WBU junior welterweight title. A year later, the British fight was broadcast for the first time on the American channel Showtime. This was his third title defense against Mikhail Krivolapov.

First fall

In the fight with Eamonn Magee, already in the first round, Ricky found himself on the canvas, running into an oncoming right hand. And although Hatton ultimately won by decision, this fight still showed that he is not an impenetrable fighter.

I see a purpose, but I do not see obstacles!

The brilliant series of victories of the Foggy Albion representative contributed to the fact that on October 1, 2004, Hatton became a full participant in the qualifying match for the right to fight the IBF world champion in the junior welterweight division, which at that time was owned by Russian Kostya Tszyu. Ricky's opponent was American Michael Stewart. Already in the first round, Stewart was knocked down twice, and in the fifth round he finally lost by technical knockout. As a result, on June 4, 2005, Hatton defeated Tszyu by technical knockout and took the title from him.

Defeats of a legend

"Floyd Mayweather - Ricky Hatton." At the time of this championship fight (Mayweather was making his first defense), both boxers had more than 80 victories between them and not a single defeat. The fight as a whole was dictated by the American, and already in the 10th round Ricky was first knocked down, and then his corner was forced to throw the towel into the ring, signaling surrender. Thus, Hatton received his first defeat.

"Manny Pacquiao - Ricky Hatton." It was this confrontation that led to the most brutal knockout of the Briton. On May 2, 2009, in the last seconds of the second round, the Filipino “puts out the light” in Hatton’s eyes with a powerful left hook and takes the IBO belt for himself. By the way, it was after this fight that the Briton began to drink heavily, use drugs and generally lead an unbridled lifestyle. However, after a while he finally pulls himself together and returns to boxing. He chooses Ukrainian Vyacheslav Senchenko as a victim. But, as time has shown, it was completely in vain. On November 24, 2012, the result of the battle for the Briton was sad. Hatton was knocked out after missing a blow to the liver. The twenty-thousand-strong arena of spectators in Manchester was disappointed, because the “victim” showed himself exclusively as a predator who contributed to the speedy end of their favorite’s career.

In conclusion, we note that Ricky Hatton, whose knockouts occurred through his own fault, should be grateful to his Ukrainian opponent. Who knows how the Briton’s career would have developed further if he had won against Senchenko. After all, most likely Ricky, in his characteristic manner, would have gone further on his way to the top, and probably broken his teeth on someone more serious. But, as you know, history does not like the subjunctive mood. And therefore let us pay tribute to this great English boxer, who always delighted the audience with his fights.

"Mortgage your houses, borrow money from the mafia and bet it all on me." - That's what Ricky Hatton said before the fight with Manny Pacquiao. In 2008, Manny Pacquiao had already made history. The fact is that this year Pacquiao - a typical lightweight - had three fights with outstanding opponents in three different categories. First, he defeated Juan Manuel Marquez at 59 kg. Then David Diaz in the up to 61.2 kg category. And he defeated the most popular boxer in the world, Oscar de la Hoya, in a category completely unsuitable for the short Pacquiao, in the category up to 66.7 kg. Before the fight against Oscar, absolutely everyone was outraged by this fight. They said that this was complete absurdity, that Manny was too small and such a fight would only harm boxing and especially Manny. All the experts, boxers and former opponents of Manny, said that Oscar would win in two rounds. Since, if Oscar lost weight to meet the welterweight limit, then Manny, on the contrary, did not even gain 3 pounds. Oscar, a year earlier, gave a very competitive fight to Floyd Mayweather, losing by split decision. To this day, many people think that Oscar won. And hardly anyone would have thought that the Filipino lightweight would be able to defeat the middleweight, who is both taller and larger. The only one who believed in Manny's success was his coach Freddie Roach. And as a result, it was the harshest beating of Oscar in his entire career. From the first round, Manny Pacquiao bombarded Oscar with slashing punches from both hands, at the speed of a turbocharged fan. Manny was incomparable and he took full advantage of his chance to humiliate a superstar who stood in the way of great glory. The process of humiliation reached its highest degree after the eighth round. When, during the break, a white towel flew out of the American's corner. The great Oscar de la Hoya lost his fight while sitting on a chair. After such a defeat, Oscar de la Hoya ended his career. After this fight, Manny became a superstar, and most importantly, a money machine. And then new challenges followed. Briton Ricky Hatton had a style reminiscent of a rabid bulldog, with which he tortured the great Kostya Tszyu. Ricky was 100% sure that little Manny would not withstand his forceful pressure. Yes, in principle, most experts also adhered to this opinion. It's just that many were so impressed by the defeat that Manny gave Oscar that because of this they considered him the favorite. But it’s one thing to beat a veteran, and another thing when you have a young, persistent and very confident Hatton in front of you. Hatton urged everyone to bet on him, and that they would never earn such easy money again. "Mortgage your houses, borrow money from the mafia and bet it all on me." Not surprisingly, Ricky bet a lot on himself. Probably few people expected that this would be one of the easiest fights for Manny. Still, it was assumed that the advantage in physical strength and endurance would allow Hatton to provide tough resistance to Pacquiao. But in this case, the notorious difference in styles came into play, according to which, in particular, a pacer for a puncher is often a very convenient opponent. Hatton went straight at Pac-Man from the very beginning of the fight, and while the Briton was trying to figure out how best to start pushing his opponent, the Filipino quickly adjusted his aim. It only took Manny half a round to knock down the Briton with one of the first side kicks. Ricky stood up before the end of the countdown and Manny first beat up his opponent with a protracted series, and exactly 10 seconds before the gong he knocked him to the canvas again. During the break, shock and confusion reigned in Hatton’s corner, and Ricky himself could no longer consciously listen to the advice of his coach Floyd Mayweather Sr. It was felt that the end of this fight was close. And this moment came 8 seconds before the end of the second round, when with a powerful left hook Manny simply cut down Hatton, who was once again moving towards him. The knockout was profound; Ricky was revived by doctors and members of his team for several minutes. And so Manny Pacquiao became the number one boxer in the p4p ranking. To this day, all analysts say that if the fight against Floyd Mayweather had taken place between 2009 and 2012, then Floyd would have had slim chances, since Manny was at the very peak of his career. Well, Ricky Hatton, after this defeat, hung up his gloves, and generally disappeared from the field for several years.

Over American Jesse Vargas and became the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion. Lenta.ru recalls other striking fights of the famous boxer.

November 11, 2003. Manny Pacquiao - Marco Antonio Barrera

Pacquiao is the first and so far only boxer to win titles in eight weight categories. He started with the lightest category (up to 50.84 kilograms) and successfully rose to the first middle category (69.91 kilograms). Despite his occupation, Pacquiao is extremely religious. He constantly talks about God at press conferences, and after each fight he thanks the Almighty for his help. also by his hostility towards gays.

In 2003, in the USA, the 26-year-old Filipino met the most experienced Mexican boxer Marco Antonio Barrera. In the first round, Pacquiao was knocked down, but this misunderstanding only provoked the athlete, hungry for victory. He bombarded his venerable opponent with punches throughout the entire fight. As a result, Barrera himself was knocked down twice, and in the 11th round, the coach could not watch his charge being simply beaten, and asked to stop the fight. This is Pacquiao's first truly significant victory.

May 8, 2004. Manny Pacquiao - Juan Manuel Marquez

Already in the first round, Pacquiao sent the Mexican to the floor three times, but he got up each time. It was a real battle - the fight lasted all 12 rounds, the judges recorded a draw. The Filipino and the Mexican met three more times - Pacquiao prevailed twice, Marquez won once by knockout.

December 6, 2008. Manny Pacquiao - Oscar De La Hoya

Barcelona 1992 Olympic champion Oscar De La Hoya, nicknamed “Golden Boy,” was at that time the most famous of all the Filipino’s rivals. To meet him, Pac Man jumped to welterweight, skipping one category. De La Hoya, who had an advantage in height and arm length, was considered the undisputed favorite, but already in the debut it became clear that the experts were deeply mistaken. The American simply did not have time to react to Manny’s lightning-fast attacks: despite the “Golden Boy’s” long arms, he was getting hit hard.

Before the ninth round, the American's corner stopped the fight, and Pacquiao ascended to the boxing Olympus. De La Hoya, by the way, received such a painful blow to his pride that he never returned to the ring - the fight with the Filipino was the last in his career.

May 2, 2009. Manny Pacquiao - Ricky Hatton

The fight was a title fight. The offender of the legendary Russian boxer Kostya Tszyu, Briton Ricky Hatton defended the championship belt of the International Boxing Organization (IBO) for the second time. The fight that the audience expected did not work out - already in the first round, Hatton suffered heavy knockdowns twice. It all ended at the end of the next segment, when Pacquiao’s signature left landed on Ricky’s jaw - this knockout was recognized as the best at the end of the year. Another title for the Filipino, and the British were still being pumped out by doctors for a very long time.

In 1996, Ricky became a bronze medalist at the World Junior Championships, losing in the semi-finals to Russian boxer Timur Nergadze, and in 1997 he won the British junior welterweight title. In 1999, Hatton was named Best Young Boxer by the British Association of Boxing Writers. His promoter Frank Warren called him "the most talented boxer to emerge from Britain since Naseem Hamed."

Long before he became an accomplished amateur boxer, Hatton realized that body shots could be his path to success. “When I was 15, I was training with ex-British champion Pat Barrett and he knocked me out with a body shot,” Hatton recalled. “I had never been knocked out by a body shot before, and this gave me the impetus to use such punches.” It is not surprising that Hatton's idol is the famous Roberto Duran, who also loved to work the body.

Hatton made his professional debut on September 11, 1997, at the age of 18, and his opponent did not last even one round. Three months later, on December 19, 1997, Hatton fought overseas for the first time, at the famous Madison Square Garden, and defeated Robert Alvarez on points in a four-round fight.

On May 29, 1999, in his thirteenth professional fight, Hatton defeated Dillon Carew by TKO in the fourth round to win the WBO International junior welterweight title.

After that, he made five successful defenses of his title, and on September 23, 2000, he won the WBA International title, defeating Italian boxer Giuseppe Lauri. Less than a month after the Lowry fight, Hatton added the British junior welterweight title to his resume with a decision win over Jonathan Thaxton.

Despite the fact that Hatton is stronger than many European and world boxers, he has a tendency to cut, which has repeatedly posed a danger to him.

In his fight with Gilbert Quiros on June 10, 2000, by the end of the first round, Hatton's face was covered in blood and there was a large tumor under his left eye. However, Hutton, in his usual manner, quickly turned things around. Midway through the second round he landed a nasty left hook to the body that sent Quiros to the canvas and he was unable to get back to his feet until the count of 9.

In his victory against Lowry (who had only one loss in twenty fights prior to this fight), Hatton allowed his opponent to show off his skills in the first three rounds of the fight. Lowry was hitting frequently, and Hutton's right eye began to swell. As a result of a clash of heads in the second round, Hatton broke his nose. However, Ricky responded successfully with quick and accurate combinations. In the fifth round, a four-punch combination, capped by a powerful left hand, sent Lauri crashing to the ropes. The referee intervened and stopped the fight.

Best of the day

In a decision win over Thaxton, Hatton was injured within the first 15 seconds of the fight and was forced to spend the entire fight with a severe cut above his left eye, which then required 28 stitches.

On March 26, 2001, Hatton knocked out Canadian lightweight champion Tony Pep in the fourth round to win the vacant WBU junior welterweight title. Successful body shots knocked Pep down twice in the third round. The last knockdown ended the fight at 2 minutes 31 seconds of the fourth round. "This guy (Hutton) can hit," said Pep, who was never able to capitalize on his length advantage. - He attacks the body very dangerously. I’ve never met anyone like this before.”

During his third defense of the WBU title, Hatton recorded a second-round knockout victory over former IBF lightweight champion Freddie Pendleton. Hatton wore down Pendleton with a series of brutal body shots. The last was a magnificent left hook, after which the challenger could not get up for two minutes, wincing in pain.

On February 9, 2002, Ricky once again successfully defended his title, defeating number four in the WBC rating, Mikhail Krivolapov, by technical knockout in the ninth round. This Hatton fight was first shown on Showtime. After defeating Krivolapov, Hatton set his sights on a much-anticipated fight with Eamonn Magee. Despite the first knockdown of his career in the first round as a result of a counter right hook from Magee, Hatton continued to attack. Increasing his activity in the final rounds, he celebrated victory with scores of 116-111 and 115-112 (twice).

On April 5, 2003, Hatton won an emphatic unanimous decision victory over former world champion Vince Philips. Hatton controlled the entire course of the fight, as evidenced by the judges' scores: 119-109, 120-107 and 120-108.

A few months later, Hatton entered the ring against a very strong boxer from Ghana, Ben Taki. The entire fight was dictated by Hatton, and the judges at the end of the fight were unanimous, recording his victory with a large advantage: 118-110 and 120-109 twice.

On October 1, 2004, Hatton entered the qualifying fight for the title of mandatory challenger for the IBF junior welterweight title, owned by the recognized king of this division, Kosta Tszyu. His opponent in this fight was the famous American boxer Michael Stewart. Having been knocked down twice already in the first round, Stewart could do absolutely nothing with the much stronger Hatton, who won by technical knockout in the fifth round.

Just two months later, Hatton again defended his title against American Rey Oliveira, knocking him out in the tenth round.