MANILA, Philippines – IBO lightwelterweight champion Ricky Hatton learned to bang the midsection from years of pounding a body belt worn by former trainer Billy Graham and even as Floyd Mayweather Sr. is now in his corner, the Hitman from Manchester will still rely on his bread-and-butter attack in defending his crown against Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on May 2.
Graham was Hatton?s trainer for over 10 years and they split ways when Mayweather Sr. came aboard for the English brawler?s fight against Paul Malignaggi last year.
But Graham?s imprint remains all over Hatton?s style. It was Graham who made Hatton a fearsome body puncher.
In the gym, Graham used to wear the body belt, a leather suit with nine inches of foam for Hatton to hammer. Writer Dominic McGuinness said Graham looked like he strapped on a cross between an absurd oversized waistcoat and the top half of a sumo wrestler fat suit whenever Hatton did the routine.
The body belt was Hatton?s favorite. ?I love the body belt, 15 rounds on it,? said Hatton, quoted by McGuinness in his book ?The Real Hitman.? ?The pace that I go at is absolutely ferocious and the minute I?ve done that, I know from a stamina and conditioning point of view, I don?t need to worry. That?s probably the best part of my training.?
Graham explained the value of the body belt.
?It helps recreate what?s gonna go on in the ring and it helps cut down on sparring,? he said. ?I probably don?t do as much sparring as other trainers. The only reason I can get away with that is because I?m on the body belt so much. It?s worked for me over the years.?
With Graham gone, Hatton is now trained by Lee Beard, also an Englishman, and Mayweather Sr. It was Beard who brought Mayweather Sr. to Hatton?s camp as they?ve been working together since 2004.
Hatton said Graham got too weary working in the gym and had to inject his hands with painkillers before holding up the punch mitts. After losing to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and beating Juan Lazcano via a lacklustre decision, Hatton decided to leave Graham behind.
?Billy was adamant that he could finish my career but Ray Charles could have seen that he wasn?t capable of it,? said Hatton, quoted by writer Jonathan Green.
Jane Couch, a British five-time world champion, described Hatton as ?the best body puncher ever to come out of this country.? She added, ?In the ring, Ricky is one of the most exciting fighters in the world … his idol is Roberto Duran (and) he?s like Duran, he goes forward … everyone goes on about (Joe) Calzaghe but Ricky is the best British fighter … nobody gave him a chance against Kostya Tszyu and he destroyed him.?
Hatton?s inability to control his wild eating and drinking binges when not in training has resulted in weight fluctuations where he has shot up to even 180 pounds, earning the nickname ?Ricky Fatton.? Once, it was reported that he downed 57 pints of beer during a four-day vacation. His voracious appetite for beer and Chinese food is legendary.
McGuinness wrote that Hatton?s diet on a typical non-training day starts with a ?mega-breakfast? at 11 a.m. consisting of three sausages, three strips of bacon, two eggs, hash browns, black pudding, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, two slices of toast and coffee with two sugars. Lunch of fish and chips with a soft drink is at 2 p.m. Then, he has dinner at 7 p.m., taking in chicken madras, pilaf rice, bread and two pints of beer. For a snack at 10 p.m., he gorges on a packet of chicharon and consumes eight pints of beer.
On a training day, he has a 10:30 a.m. breakfast of two scoops of formula (a blend of nutrients to enhance strength, recuperation and stamina) in a pint of water. At 11 a.m., he takes a sachet of a high protein meal replacement supplement in a pint of water, four capsules and a tablet of high strength vitamin and mineral formula, five capsules of a blend of fatty acids and omega 3, 6, 9 and porridge. His 2:45 p.m. lunch consists of a mix of fast-acting proteins and glucose polymers. At 3:15 p.m., he has a ?clean? meal of chicken or fish, green vegetables, potatoes and rice or pasta. At 6 p.m., he indulges in a snack of a pro flapjack, low in saturated fat and high in quality protein. For dinner at 8 p.m., he takes another ?clean? meal or a meal replacement with a tablet and capsule of high strength vitamin and mineral formula and five capsules of fatty acids and omega. His snack of pro flapjack comes at 10 p.m.
?I wouldn?t say it?s been difficult but I?ve always had to work to make lightwelterweight (140 pounds),? confessed Hatton to McGuinness. ?My diet gets considerably better nearer the fight and I need the good fuel then for the energy.?
