Ricky Hatton rang the first bell for boxing’s year of living dangerously – and for this new column – with the bloated appearance on television in which he announced his comeback.
There will be spring in the Manchester air this May – but not in the step of that city’s most beloved son of the prize-ring.
And therein – behind all the obvious anxiety of so many devotees of the hardest game – lurks the hidden concern about Hatton succumbing to this age-old temptation.
It is not only that Hatton’s resistance to heavy punches appears to have been eroded. It is the fundamental reason why.
In any veteran of the noble art it is the legs which go first. No secret that. But it is when the bounce – not just the movement – is no longer there that the worst damage is done.
In Hatton’s case that tendency has been growing over the past couple of years. It contributed to his knock-out by Floyd Mayweather Jnr in December 2007, but it came to its most alarming head in last May’s brutally concussive obliteration by Manny Pacquaio.
Three times in the first two rounds Hatton was caught square-on and flat-footed. Three times he went down. The last time it took several minutes for him to regain consciousness before being helped up and away for a brain scan.
When a boxer is hit while in that rooted posture, the shockwaves through both head and body take on seismic proportions.
Of itself, that was more than punishing enough, but other collateral factors were worrying, also.
Either Hatton did not see the mightiest of Pacquaio’s punches coming or his reflexes have slowed up too much for him to take evasive action. Either way, that is not reassuring news as he talks of taking on another of the world’s top pound-for-pound boxers.
No less iconic a figure than legendary ex-champ Barry McGuigan is telling Hatton that if he must have a last hurrah, it should be against a light puncher. But it is not in the nature of this natural-born warrior to look for a victorious swansong against a patsy. Thus Mexican danger man Juan Manuel Marquez heads the list of potential opponents.
For that very gallant reason – as well as his blood lust for the thunderous battles which delight his blue army of fans – he has taken a lot of punishment in his near-50 fight career.
Furthermore, the long-term effects are exaggerated by the draining struggle to make the 10-stone light-welter limit following his repeated bouts of boozing and binge-eating.
The Hitman makes fun of his ballooning weight between ring engagements, dubbing himself Ricky Fatton. He does so with an engaging quickness of wit.
This may be the time for him to take a look at how Parkinson’s disease has reduced the once-fastest lip of all, Muhammad Ali, to a punch-drunk whisper.
Hatton wants this one fight – at least – so he can go out with a win rather than on a stretcher. But many an old pro goes on so long that he reaches the point where they are one punch away from calamity, never mind one fight.
And Hatton, at 31, has nothing left to prove.
Not after bringing so much courage and so many explosive thrills to our entertainment down the years. Our admiration of him is not sullied by just two defeats, not since they came against two of the greatest boxers of this time.
That is not to deny that his comeback will perform a service to the sport he loves at this moment when not only ring fans but the wider public are lamenting the cancellation of the mega-fight which was expected to launch boxing into a prosperous new decade.
There has been much debate as to who is most to blame for the collapse of Pacquaio v Mayweather before they could get into the ring on March 13 to resolve which of them is the best pound-for-pound boxer on Planet Earth.
Mayweather’s insistence on repetitive drugs tests amounted to a sly, albeit unjustified insinuation that Pacquaio’s ascent to flyweight through seven world titles in different divisions up to welterweight has been fraudulent.
Pacquaio’s paranoia about giving amounts of blood unprecedented in boxing did not help a defence which he ought not to have been required to make against unsubstantiated allegations.
Now, the balance of opinion has been tilted in favour of the hero of the Philippines by Pacquaio’s decision to defend his latest world title against a genuine contender, Ghana’s New York-based tough guy Joshua Clottey.
Mayweather’s search for a fall guy as his alternative opponent merely reinforces the accusation by Bob Arum, Pacquaio’s promoter, that the Moneyman ducked the Pacman.
Both those fights take place on that contentious date of March 13, with Pacquaio likely to win the pay-TV ratings contest.
But even though this antagonistic duo are likely to get it on against each other – finally – in September, Hatton will fill the void meanwhile.
We will watch with grim fascination. We will hope that he gets his victory with which to kiss the ring goodbye, but not so convincingly that he is lured on to a deadly embrace with Amir Khan.
No-one wants to see the Hitman disintegrate into the Be-Hit Man.
