IS IT DISAPPOINTING TO LOSE WHEN YOU CAN�T WIN?
Pittsburgh, PA-Despite the lively, entertaining chants from his countrymen, the former junior welterweight (140 lb.) champ from England showed us that, for Saturday night at least, there was only one Ricky: flattened, not Hatton And yet, to term his devastating knockout loss a disappointment is like referring to an eaten mouse in the same way after placing it in a snake pit. Let�s face it � we could put those two back in the ring five more times, and we�d need five sets of smelling salts for Ricky Hatton. Problem is (or maybe it�s why we love him), he�d make that walk each damn time, probably with a funny song about him and smelling salts before it�s through.
NO SHAME IN LOSING TO THE TWO BEST
We learned this weekend what some had forgotten, or maybe didn�t want to believe, all of us victims of HBO�s wonderful sleight of hand known as �24/7� � that Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KOs), though world-class, is not in the same league as the new pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs), like his predecessor, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (39-0, 25 KOs).
Pacquiao�s record is particularly astounding when you consider the following: Of his three losses, the two knockouts are overstated, one coming at only 17, the other at 20 following weight struggles, when he immediately then jumped three weight classes. His only other loss, twice avenged in overwhelming style, came to Hall of Famer Erik �El Terrible� Morales. Hatton, we now know, served as the instrument for the two virtuosos of this era.
HATTON WAS A TRUE CHAMP TO REMEMBER
Diminish his quintessential win over Kostya Tszyu all you want, but the facts speak for themselves: Before Hatton battered him into submission, Tszyu ruled the 140 pound division, not losing for over eight years. And while many have called Tszyu shot in that fight and the win thus tainted, how many said that before the fight versus the number claiming it afterwards? If Tszyu was shot, Hatton stood there in Manchester four years ago, holding the smoking gun. After dispatching Tszyu, Hatton impressively (despite missteps during his two welterweight forays) defended his junior welter crown five times against good opposition, including his number one challenger in November 2008, Paul Malignaggi.
AS POPULAR OUTSIDE OF THE RING AS INSIDE
After getting trounced in two of his last three trips to Las Vegas, perhaps the Hitman never wants to see that place again. That would be a shame, because he could seemingly carry a stage act on the Strip with his crowd-pleasing humor and wit. One of the few possessing the charisma and charm to inspire millions of followers, he led the most fun group of fans in the sport wherever he went, including across the Atlantic several times. They came and cheered because Ricky was fun. Because he was tough. Because he could fight. Because he was one of them. And most of all, because nobody could convince them that any fighter, not even the great Mayweather or Pacquiao, was going to stop their Ricky, not unless they saw it with their own eyes. And so it happened again Saturday night, but beneath their pain must lie some hope that the hometown kid will come back once more, because if he does, they�ll show up in full force again, believing that this time, nobody will beat Ricky.
Brian Gorman
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