There is an old saying that says if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. But we all know that is never the case. Afterall , we are men and we can , in fact , build that better mouse trap. It is that strange curiosity that makes a man believe that he can improve on something that is already pretty darn good. And so it goes , especially in the sports world. Boxing is the biggest culprit. A fighter loses and suddenly he looks for ways to reinvent himself.
But suppose the reason for his eventual downfall was a reinvention. Maybe the start of the fall was years in the making. A subtle hint here. A suggestion there , and now what was once a tank becomes a grenade. Still capable of doing damage. But not quite as much damage.
Somewhere along the line someone made such a suggestion to Ricky Hatton. The thought process must of been that Ricky had good footwork and quick hands. He also throws a good jab so we must convince him that he is a better boxer than brawler.
To get to that point we must go back. The turning point may have been when Hatton beat Kostya Tszyu for the world junior welterweight title. The fight was ugly , filled with clinching and alot of head hunting. While it was a crowning achievement in his career , it wasn’t the Ricky that we had come to love.
As the years passed Hatton continued to focus more on boxing , more on head punches. This was about the time that Hatton seemed to start having difficulty in fights. When he was at his best he was a body punching machine. Duran , McCallum and Chavez came to mind.
It was a thing of beauty. Round after round of a violent body assault that would make the greats proud. He would attack and jab out to give himself better distance to attack the body again. The sight of opponents rolling around the ring in agony still lives vividly in my mind. The sound of the left hook that stopped Jose Luis Castillo stills rings in that arena to this day.
Sometimes suggestions are made. Sometimes for the worst. You don’t try to turn a pitbull into a poodle. You turn him loose and tell him to attack.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a Ricky Hatton fan. His personality is a breath of fresh air. The off the wall joking is something I can definitely relate to , just ask Michelle. But we need the old Ricky back. Would the old Ricky have beat Pacquiao? No , right now Pacquiao is in a world of his own and there is no shame in losing to such a fighter. The Mayweather fight may have been different though. A more sustained body attack may have been the difference in the later rounds.
Now we hear that Ricky is training again. Some boxers don’t want to go into retirement having lost in such a devastating manner. Again alot of that had to do with an opponent named Manny. Hatton still has some fight left in him and the boxing world should be thankful. He comes to fight and he sells tickets. Now all he needs is a trainer that will tell him that to go forward he must go back to a time when he was perhaps the best body puncher in the world.
