If Ricky Hatton watched Amir Khan’s coronation as world champion from his hospital bed, the thought surely hit him that he is better off fighting severe stomach bugs than pursuing any part of the Olympic silver medallist.
Hatton, who is still recovering from a gastric virus which required him to spend some time on a drip, is being seriously suggested as Khan’s next opponent in a stadium-filling title defence later this year.
Hatton has not fought since he was pummelled in two rounds by Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas in May. More worryingly, he is yet to announce a decision on his future, lending succour to the rumours he may fight again.
Amid the inevitable hype and bluster which accompanies such coronations, it was refreshing late on Saturday night to hear promoter Frank Warren urge Hatton to stay retired for the sake of his health.
Warren admitted a fight between Khan and Hatton would be financially lucrative. But he also said fears over Hatton’s health were of paramount concern – a kind of concern that must make money no object.
Besides, increasingly, a fight between the emerging Bolton superstar and the two-weight world champion ‘Hit Man’ has all the makings of a mis-match. Hatton’s punch resistance is gone. His time has passed.
Hatton should make clear his intentions and concentrate on his enormous talent for after-dinner speaking as well as cultivating the next generation of world champions through his promotions company.
He should sit ringside at Khan’s fights, bask in the adulation he richly deserves and cheer on his legitimate successor. He should not risk sullying his legacy against a fighter with a new generation to conquer.
For Khan’s part, he has an ever-growing number of options, chief among them a Las Vegas debut, possibly as early as the end of this year, where his flashy, attacking style will surely prove a big hit.
It is not just Khan’s stunning speed which makes him such an irresistible attraction: the ever-present sense of danger over his less-than-concrete chin can turn the most harmless-looking assignment into an exhilarating tightrope-walk.
For that reason, there will be plenty of fighters who fancy their chances. Last night, Khan barely left the ring before bookmakers were offering odds on his next opponent – Hatton, predictably, the favourite.
Behind him, there were suggestions for unbeaten, not particularly big-punching New Yorker Dmitry Salita, or the exciting, vulnerable Argentine Marco Maidana: both thoroughly justifiable as first defences.
Eventually, it is hoped, Khan will have bigger targets to aim for. It was heartening on Saturday night to hear the Bolton 22-year-old insist his victory over Kotelnik would be just the start.
Other 140lbs champions include Timothy Bradley, the conqueror of Junior Witter, and the American Kendall Holt, both big enough names in the United States to attract top-of-the-bill, pay-per-view status.
There are also a host of top lightweights who may look to move up – Juan Diaz, Joan Guzman, perhaps even Juan Manuel Marquez or the dangerous Edwin Valero. Perhaps one day, Manny Pacquiao.
Khan’s name deserves to be mentioned in such illustrious company, just as Hatton did before him. They sustained British boxing through different generations. It is to be hoped, for both their sakes, it stays that way.
