PERHAPS, it wasn?t meant to be. Ricky Hatton wanted to exorcise his demons by attempting to reclaim what was once his, but he fell short.
Three and a half years away from the squared circle were too much to overcome. The layoff in itself is already a prohibitive factor, and it certainly didn?t help matters that those three years were not time well spent.
Some boxers stay away from the ring, but remain in shape. In Hatton?s case, instead of runs and drills, it was meth and thrills. His timing was a bit off and he looked wild and sluggish at times.
But even if you gloss over this fact and argue that Hatton never was the smoothest of boxers, what was palpably clear last Sunday was that the Hatton on top of the ring was merely a suggestion of the dominant fighter he once was.
Still, you have to admire a man who just goes out and does it. No ifs, no buts, no putrid excuses.
And he set the bar high by choosing a former world champion, Vyacheslav Senchenko, as his comeback opponent.
BODY SHOT. Everything runs its course and in Ricky?s case, his vaunted stamina and punch resistance were affected.
Though he was able to wing it the first few rounds, he nonetheless became winded in the middle rounds, until he finally fell prey to that body shot in the ninth.
It was indeed ironic that Hatton would succumb to that very shot that he used to bedevil his opponents with.
Hatton was a relentless, remorseless body-puncher who loved digging at this opponent?s torso too much. Who can forget the liver shot that paralyzed Jose Luis Castillo in the 4th round that caused the fight?s premature denouement? Or the way he pounded Kostya Tzsyu into submission and into retirement after 11 brutal rounds?
For his sake, I hope his losing, albeit commendable effort restores some measure of self-respect.
Ricky can look back to a wonderful career and be proud of it. When he was in the ring, he always gave it his all, and fans appreciate that.
Long live the ?Hitman.?
REMEMBERING THE MACHO MAN. Speaking of careers, say what you will about Hector Camacho, but he was a legend of the sport.
He was also known for his flamboyant style and personality and was among the first to popularize garrulous and outlandish boxing trunks in the ring.
A little known fact was that he defeated Freddie Roach via unanimous decision in 1985.
Camacho?s best wins came against Edwin Rosario, Ray ?Boom-Boom? Mancini and Roberto Duran. He also defeated and sent Ray Leonard into retirement in 1997.
Being a true-blue ?Sugar Ray? fan, I found that fight difficult to watch as Leonard, who had been away from the ring for six years, was totally outclassed.
Prior to the bout, Leonard had proudly declared that he had taken up yoga to help him with his flexibility concerns after such a long layoff.
But he was never in the fight, and the ?Macho Man? made him appear inept and incompetent.
Even now, I would much rather suffer through a Kris Aquino TV show than watch that fight again.
Unlike Hatton who always brought the action, Camacho loved to clown around on top of the ring, and this often appeared boorish and turned off a lot of fans.
But he was always the entertainer and will always be an icon of the sport. RIP, Hector ?Macho? Camacho.
SUNSTAR TURNS 30 PARTY. It was great seeing ALA boxers Rey Bautista, WBO junior fly champ Donnie Nietes, Milan Melindo, Jason Pagara and their trainers, the Villamor brothers Edito and Edmund last Saturday night.
Also on hand was IBF light flyweight king Johnreil Casimero with promoter Sammy Gelloani.
I was planning to divulge to you some of the interesting and scandalous chitchat we exchanged that night, but our waiter plied us with so much alcohol, I can?t for the life of me, remember any. Sigh!
LAST ROUND. It?s on Dr. Nathalie Ann Hernaez who recently celebrated her birthday. Cheers!
