Ricky Hatton: Retirement for The People's Champion?

From foul-language filled press conferences, to stunning knockouts, Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KOs) has built up quite the fan base over the past decade. Now, following two losses in his last four fights, Hatton is considering, and according to some, leaning towards retirement. As a long time Hatton fan, i would hate to see this, despite The Hitman's clearly diminishing skill set. Ideally, we would all love to see 'The People's Champion' enter City of Manchester stadium one more time to the hum of 'Blue Moon', as thousands of trumpet and beer wielding fans scream 'Theres only one Ricky Hatton'.

Some blame Hatton's behavior between fights as the reason for his recent decline. Hatton puts on weight and gets out of shape between fights, as he spends the majority of his time off in the pubs of Manchester. Over the years, he has earned the nickname 'Ricky Fatton', as often times he will sign a fight contract being 30-50 pounds overweight. The pints seem to be catching up to the Hitman, whose bad health has led to a decline in the speed and power that had made Hatton a dominant force earlier in the decade.

Hatton was in top form following his TKO of Kostya Tszyu (31-2, 25 KOs) on June 4th 2005, which sent the russian boxing legend into retirement. Following a series of dominant wins after that, he fought Floyd Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) in Las Vegas on December 8th, 2007. Thousands of British fans flooded the city, despite the fight contract only allowing a small amount of them into the actual arena. Hundreds showed up to the weigh in, creating a hostile environment for Mayweather, the arrogant, heavily favored future boxing hall of famer. Fans flocked into the arena, breaking out into 'Theres Only One Ricky Hatton' to the tune of 'Winter Wonderland'. Despite the fact that the fight was in Mayweather's home city, Hatton's strong fan base made themselves known.

Hatton fought well, yet slowed in the later rounds, as Mayweather knocked the British star out in the ninth round, shattering the hopes and dreams of Hatton and his fans. After the fight, however, the fans kept singing, and Hatton bounced back from the first loss of his career. His next fight was at City of Manchester stadium against Juan Lazcano (37-5-1, 27 KOs), in front of over 60 thousand screaming fans, creating an atmosphere that brought smiles to boxing fans across the world. The Hitman won the fight, and went on to beat up and comer Paulie Malignaggi (26-3, 5 KOs) in Las Vegas six months later. This set up a fight with pound for pound champion Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs).

Much like the Mayweather fight, thousands of loud British fans stormed into Las Vegas for the fight. As vocal as ever with their chants, the British fans stormed into the MGM Grand Arena. However, Hatton was stopped by a stunning left hook that ended the fight in the second round, and sent Hatton into discussions over his retirement.

I would love to see Ricky Hatton return for one last fight. There has been much talk about potential fights with Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs), Amir Khan (21-1, 15 KOs), Junior Witter (37-3-2, 22 KOs) and Juan Diaz (35-2, 17 KOs). These would be good fights, and like all Hatton bouts, would attract large crowds and pay-per-view ratings. I dont believe that Hatton can win, let alone dominate any of these fights, with the possible exception for Diaz. What i would like to see, is Hatton signing a contract to fight a complete unknown. He needs to find an english pub-dweller with a few wins and a few losses, and set up one last fight at City of Manchester stadium. Hatton was one of the most popular athletes in the world a few years ago, but since his loss to Pacquiao, his popularity has declined. As a true Ricky Hatton fan, i want to see him enter the stadium one last time to the hum of Blue Moon, sung by 60,000 drunk Englishmen. One last exciting knockout would cement him as one of the greatest, and the most popular British boxer of all time.

Come on Ricky, Give it one more go!