Ricky Hatton remembered: Matthew Macklin on the epic Floyd Mayweather and Kostya Tszyu fights

World title challenger and Sky Sports activities’ pundit Matthew Macklin was a part of Ricky Hatton’s camp. He shares his recollections of the journey…

An outstanding, phenomenal fighter, nice man as properly. I am unhappy and shocked and my coronary heart goes out to his household. I can solely think about how they really feel.

It was properly documented that he lived life to the fullest however he educated as laborious as anybody I have been within the fitness center with. A real skilled when he was in coaching. Weight-reduction plan, all the things… he did all the things to perfection.

He had an ideal boxing mind I believe, a really underrated skillset. Everybody knew he was a fearsome physique puncher, very sturdy, however he was a improbable boxer when he wanted to be as properly.

There have been fights he received when in all probability he might have pulled out, he was in poor health. I keep in mind the Juan Urango struggle, he in all probability ought to have pulled out actually. It was a world title struggle, it was his Las Vegas debut, quite a lot of stress on, and he went by way of with it.

Even the Manny Pacquiao struggle: in hindsight he in all probability ought to have pulled out of that struggle, coaching did not go properly. However he did not. He soldiered by way of it. He walked the stroll in each sense of the phrase.

An awesome fighter to be round as properly, the best way he dealt with the stress, the best way he dealt with all of the media obligations.

He actually was a personality as properly. So humorous, a prankster within the fitness center. Boxing’s a troublesome sport and a lonely sport however if you’ve received characters like Ricky within the fitness center with you, sharing the laughs and sharing the journey, it makes every single day a pleasure, actually, versus a hardship.

Kostya Tszyu… that was one of many particular nights in British boxing historical past. Actually in my time, it was the night time.

It was late at night time as a result of it needed to swimsuit US primetime tv, the MEN packed out in Manchester, Kostya Tszyu an all time nice already who’d cemented his legacy.

Not many individuals gave Ricky Hatton an opportunity in that struggle. Even the those who knew Ricky was the true deal and believed in him and thought he was world class, I do not imagine they thought he was fairly ok to beat a legend, an all-time nice like Kostya Tszyu.

However it was his night time, he wasn’t going to be denied and he made it a warfare of attrition. He jumped on Kostya Tszyu. He did not give him the room or the time. He dragged him into Ricky Hatton’s struggle, shut quarters and tenacious. It was ferocious, it was gruelling and finally he wished it extra.

It was his time and he had 20,000-odd followers inside that area prepared him on with each single punch. At the moment I used to be very shut with Ricky, we educated collectively, I used to be a part of his workforce and from my viewpoint as a younger fighter coming by way of, simply to soak up that have and be taught from it, it was unbelievable.

For the Floyd Mayweather struggle in Las Vegas, it was chaos, in a great way. I keep in mind a few of the blackjack sellers, they mentioned they’d been there 30, 40 years they usually’d by no means seen something prefer it. They could not imagine it, the assist, the noise, it was unreal.

He got here up brief towards Mayweather however he pushed Mayweather. That was in all probability one among Mayweather’s finest performances. Ricky introduced the perfect out of Mayweather along with his aggression and what he delivered to the struggle. And that was prime Mayweather.

He had a connection to his followers, perhaps extra so than anybody earlier than or since. He actually embraced all of it. He by no means forgot his roots, he was very a lot a person of the individuals.

And it is not straightforward if you’re that well-known and everybody desires a bit of you. However he at all times tried to verify he by no means forgot himself, he at all times made time for individuals. I believe he genuinely loved it. He genuinely was grateful and by no means forgot that.