Fallen Hero Ricky Hatton Has Been Crushed By Unrealistic Expectations

As the golden boy of British boxing Ricky Hatton has long had to deal with a level of expectation disproportionate to his actual ability. He was the recipient of little more than mild optimism until he defied the odds to defeat Kosta Tsyu in his native Manchester in 2005.

When Tszyu quit on his stool at the end of the 11th round Hatton not only won his first recognized world title, he immediately captured the hearts and minds of the British boxing public. The fact that Tszyu, who had got the better of Hatton in the early exchanges, would never set foot inside a ring again remains little more than a small but significant footnote in the annals of sporting history.

Hatton was the archetypal working class hero. Despite enjoying success as a professional athlete he still liked to indulge in a few pints and the occasional fry up. People warmed to him because they recognized him as one of their own but when it came to boxing he had something a little bit special.

The career defining win against Tszyu was followed up by a slightly scruffy stoppage win over Carlos Maussa and the announcement, in a fanfare of publicity, that Hatton was to move up to welterweight in an attempt to crack America.

The logic was clear. In boxing the big money is always in the US and at the time there were many more marquee fighters campaigning at 147 lbs then at Hatton's natural weight of 140 lbs. In the minds of most, at least in the UK, Hatton was ready to leave his native shores in order to take his career to the next level.

A cynic might have noted that Hatton's had only ever beaten one elite opponent and that Tszyu was already well past his heyday but success starved British fight fans would not have listened. Their boy was ready to take on the world and they were behind him.

Hatton made his US debut in Boston. A sizeable contingent of British fans made the trip but it was still not enough to fill the TD Arena in the face of American indifference to a fighter who had yet to impress on the "other" side of the Atlantic.

His opponent, Luis Collazo, had a respectable record but was not exactly a household name and this fight attracted little interest outside of the UK. Hatton made the best possible start to life as a welterweight when he knocked Collazo down in the opening round but it was downhill all the way from that point.

Toward the end of the fight Hatton was literally holding on for dear life, not exactly a textbook defensive technique but one he would develop a reputation for relying heavily upon.

The judges gave Hatton the benefit of the doubt on that occasion and Collazo immediately demanded a rematch. Hatton's management were far too shrewd to consider such a request and in the wake of this less than impressive performance Hatton was unceremoniously moved straight back down to 140 lbs.

If ever there was a tacit acknowledgment that the hype was not necessarily to be believed this was it. A light welterweight champion for Hatton to beat was duly found and Juan Urango found himself next in line for a shot at the Englishman.

This fight saw the Hatton bandwagon roll into the boxing mecca of Las Vegas. While the British tabloids were full of tales of its hero hitting the bright lights international interest was still not sufficiently high for this fight to fill a decent sized arena. Instead, Hatton vs Urango took place in the Paris Ballroom, a venue which is not exactly synonymous with world class boxing.

On the undercard was a once great boxer who had recently fallen on hard times. Jose Luis Castillo fell abruptly from grace after repeatedly failing to make weight for fights with Diego Corrales and his ailing career was in urgent need of a boost.

If Castillo could get past the challenge of Herman Ngoudjo and Hatton could regain his light welterweight title at the expense of Urango then a highly marketable fight between the two could quickly be made. Castillo fullfilled his part of the bargain but only just. He needed a split decision to defeat Ngoudjo.

Hatton went into the fight with Urango knowing that a victory would secure him his biggest pay day to date. He got it but once again had to resort to holding in the latter rounds on his way to a decision win.

It was a long time since Hatton's last impressive performance but his reputation and unbeaten record were enough to justify a fully fledged pay per view debut. The Castillo bout was also upgraded to the Thomas & Mack Centre in New York, scene of a number of famous fights.

In turned out to be arguably Hatton's finest hour. He stopped Castillo, who was by no means regarded as a spent force, with a trademark body shot early in the fourth round. Legendary promoter Bob Arum would later describe it as 'the perfect punch'.

Hatton had finally arrived in the US and a sizeable contingent of British fans were there to witness his coronation. America had never witnessed anything like it, a boxing audience singing songs as if they were at a football match. By this stage in his career Hatton's appeal was starting to become as much about his fanatical followers as his actual boxing.

After the win against Castillo he was ready for the ultimate challenge, the undefeated, unbeatable, undisputed welterweight champion, Floyd Mayweather. Of course everyone knew that Hatton had already made one abortive attempt to move up to 147 lbs and failed to impress against an opponent far inferior to Mayweather.

Not only was Mayweather unbeaten but Oscar De la Hoya had recently spent 12 fruitless rounds failing to hit him in a light middleweight contest. It is also worth noting that after suffering the highlight reel knock out at Hatton's hands Castillo's career took an abrupt nosedive.

Unlike Tszyu, he fought on, possibly due to the financial consequences of his failure to make weight for two fights with Corrales. He would never again take part in a boxing match of any real consequence though.

While the British public might have been sold the fight between the down to earth hometown hero and the brash American in reality this was a serious miss match. Mayweather was not just bigger, he was far better. Hatton was a boxer who was struggling to hold his own at a truly elite level, Mayweather was the best in the world and this fight highlighted that harsh reality.

It might have taken Mayweather until the 11th round to hand Hatton the first loss of his career but in all 11 rounds the Englishman barely landed a punch. His fans also blotted their copybook by booing the American national anthem. The fact that Hatton had remained unbeaten long enough to warrant a shot at the pound for pound champ owed as much to marketing and prudent matchmaking as it did to his boxing ability.

In commercial terms Hatton might have been down but he was definitely not out. A triumphant homecoming in front of 55,000 at the City of Manchester Stadium, home of Hatton's beloved Manchester City, was duly arranged. Mexican Juan Lazcano was handpicked as an opponent to make Hatton look good.

Lazcano might not have won the fight but in many ways he emerged with more credit than his illustrious opponent. 

In fact, Hatton was rocked in the eighth and tenth rounds and was extraordinarily given time to recover by the referee in the latter under the pretext that his shoe laces had to be tied. The result was the right one, with Hatton winning comfortably on the scorecards, but once again the performance left a little to be desired.

Lazcano would never fight again but a return to the US was on the cards for Hatton. Paulie Malignaggi might have looked far from impressive in defeating Lovemore N'dou by split decision on the undercard at the City of Manchester Stadium but it was enough to get a fight between him and Hatton the green light.

Hatton had picked up a light welterweight strap courtesy of beating Lazcano and him and Malignaggi would do battle for it in Las Vegas. Once again Hatton's army of travelling fans hit Las Vegas but this time they were given something to actually cheer about.

Hatton met Malignaggi at the MGM Grand, the scene of his humiliation at the hands of Mayweather. This was actually a very good matchup between two boxers of a similar pedigree. In the end Hatton, under the watchful eye of new trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr, would prevail becoming the first man to ever stop Malignaggi in the process.

Unfortunately the financial realities dictated that Hatton should be propelled instantly into the most profitable possible fight. This meant a match up with Filipino wrecking machine Manny Pacquiao who was well on his way to usurping Mayweather as boxing's pound for pound king.

Pacquiao was a heavy favourite in this fight and took less than two rounds to subject Hatton to a humiliating knock out which ultimately ended his career. There was really nowhere to go for Hatton after this defeat. Interest in Britain was still sufficient to make any fight involving him a highly profitable prospect but reality was catching up with the Hatton bandwagon.

Hatton was the best English boxer of his generation  and the best in the world at 140 lbs for a long time. He was nowhere near becoming one of the all time greats and definitely benefited from some generous decisions and judicious matchmaking. Hatton was a good boxer but he could never be the best, something the British media and public desperately wanted him to be.

In this context it is no surprise that, since retirement, Hatton has returned to his roots. It was always well known that he liked a drink, that was part of the appeal. But now that the boxing has gone and the drinking has remained Hatton is no longer quite so appealing.

The life of a professional boxer is physically demanding and almost entirely  precludes the use of substances such as cocaine which, let's be honest, are widely available in just about every other walk of life.

It is quite understandable that the likes of Hatton and Joe Calzaghe should look to make up for lost time by enjoying themselves a little bit once their boxing careers are behind them. Unfortunately the British media are not renowned for their tolerance and understanding. Where once they worshiped Hatton because, despite his innate ability, he was just like you and me now they condemn him for exactly the same reason.