Yahoo! Sports’ man in Las Vegas, Martin Rogers, believes Ricky Hatton should walk away from boxing after his second-round knockout by Manny Pacquiao.
Floyd Mayweather Sr spelled out with uncharacteristic lucidity the unwanted reality that thousands of fight fans already felt in the pit of their stomachs.
Ricky Hatton – said the man who trained him amid rumours of ructions and personality conflicts – must retire.
The second and resoundingly more devastating of Hatton’s defeats may have come against a living legend in Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, but that should not be used as an excuse to squeeze more out of a boxer’s body and a fighting will that are spent.
It would be fitting if a career path that was briefly paved with gold and lined by an army of loyal fanatics came to its natural end in this city of chance. Hatton cannot go out as the best, although waving goodbye having faced the best in pound-for-pound champs Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr may be a resolution he can come to terms with.
The popular scrapper from Manchester tried his hand at the fight game’s top table and came up short on both occasions. He has made good money, thanks in no small part to his massive fan base, and it is time to go with his head held high.
