Once-beaten former welterweight world champion Vyacheslav Senchenko upset Ricky Hatton?s eagerly awaited comeback bid moments ago at the Manchester Arena in the UK as seen live on Showtime where he stopped the hometown hero with a body shot in Round 9. Hatton, who had been out of the ring for several years with well documented drug and depression problems, looked good out of the gate early on. He put the pressure on Senchenko like the days of old with an array of hard hooks and body shots. The durable visitor stood in and took the shots well. Hatton continued pressing into the middle rounds but showed signs of slowing late in the fight. The hard working Brit had spotty defense throughout the fight and in Round 8 Senchenko?s punches started to take their toll. In Round 9 the visitor landed a huge left hook to the liver and Hatton went down in a heap where he remained for several minutes receiving a full ten count. The end came officially at 2:52 of the ninth with Hatton leading on all three official scorecards. With the win Senchenko improves to 34-1 (23 KOs) while Hatton slides to 45-3 (32 KOs). Prior to the bout ?The Hitman? claimed if he came up short he would retire for good.
