If you saw Manny Pacquiao’s complete destruction of Ricky Hatton, you might recall seeing Manny hoisting up the Ring Jr. Welterweight belt immediately after the fight. Actually, that actual belt belonged to Ricky Hatton who, at that moment, was just coming out of his comatose state, courtesy of Pacman’s devastating left hand. Look closely at the photo of that moment and you’ll see the belt even has Hatton’s name inscribed on the gold emblem.
In the media room immediately after the fight, Ring Magazine editor Nigel Collins had to convince Pacquiao that he needed the belt back so he could give it back to Hatton. No, Nigel wasn’t trying to pull a Jose Sulaiman on Pacquiao by reversing the outcome of the fight. It’s just that he wanted to give Hatton his property back. Hatton had lost the Ring title to Pacquiao, but he would still be able to keep the actual belt to show his grandkids one day that he was indeed at one time the Jr. Welterweight champion of the world. Pacquiao, the new undisputed king of the Jr. Welterweight division, would have to wait a few weeks for his belt to be made.
And here it is, proof that Manny has received his official Ring belt. This picture was sent to me by Nigel Collins the other day. It shows Nigel “belting” Pacquiao with his new Ring Belt, inside a hotel suite in New York City in June. Pacquiao was in the Big Apple to attend the Boxing Writers Association of America annual dinner, where he would receive the award for Boxer of the Year.
The Ring Belt is THE most prestigious belt in the sport of boxing and the hardest to win. Some of you may say I’m biased because I write for the Ring, but I’ve been around the sweet science long enough to know the difference between utter crap and the real deal. The alphabet organizations are full of crap. They have ruined the sport of boxing by creating endless amounts of bogus titles, charging outrageous sanctioning fees, and stripping fighters of their belts for no damn reason.
The Ring Magazine does none of this. There’s no fee charged to defend the Ring belt. There’s no shady deals done in back rooms to move fighters up the rankings. And the Ring does not strip fighters of its title. The Ring belt represents the clearest and best attempt to give fans an idea of who is the best bad ass in each weight class, without politics and money getting in the way.
Congratulations Nigel on another successful “belting.” And may there be many more.
