Ricky Hatton – The Hitman Returns in 2010

Ricky Hatton as expected, today officially anounced he will be making a fighting again, after eight months out of the ring.

Hatton’s last fight was in May last year, when he was knocked out inside two rounds by Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas.

Hatton made the anouncement official today when he posted the following statement on his website 

‘Ricky Hatton has confirmed to Hatton Tv that he will be making a return to the ring in 2010. He will start his training camp after returing from a family holiday in February. No opponent has yet been fixed or a venue and Ricky will talk with Sky TV about possible dates before any decisions are made. The video interview with SkySports is featured below.

The Hitman will go on holiday to Australia and then start his training program when he gets back intent first on shedding the pounds, whilst working with his management team to select a suitable match-up to match the 31-year-old Hatton’s wish, to still take on the best.

Hatton will have a least one fight this summer, is not yet known who his comeback opponent will be, but Hatton as made it clear it as to be a top ranked fighter, world champion or pound for pound top 10.

Old foe and current IBF light welterweight champion Juan Urango is one potential option , Urango as already expressed his willingness to fight Hatton again, stating that inexperience cost him the last time they met, Hatton winning and defending his title with a twelve round decision in January 2007.

Speculation continues to grow over the possibility of an all British showdown between Hatton and his good friend and current holder to Hattons former light welterweight mantle, Amir Khan,.

Khan currently holds the WBA belt, and although Hatton has said ideally he wouldn’t really want to fight his good friend Khan, he wasnt sure anyway that his team and Frank Warren could work closely enough to broker a deal, having now fallen out, after Warren took Hatton to court after there split, but he didn’t fully rule out a clash with the Bolton man.

I believe Juan Manuel Marquez will be the boxer that Ricky decides is the best option. Marquez himself coming off a loss, to former Hatton conqurer Floyd MayweatherJnrs, is still a world class fighter, so much so he is still rated in the top ten pound for pound rankings, Mayweather did beat him good, although weight differance was considered a factor, Mayweather just proved that he is head and shoulders above most, even the brilliant Mexican.

Although the Marquez fight is not official, this fight makes sense, and will sell tickets no problem, Marquez is a Mexican favorate and as a big following within the Hispanic community, and with Hatton having possibly the biggest following of any boxer in the sport at the moment, this fight makes sense all round, also being at light welterweight, Hatton’s prefered weight. 

“I’ve decided to make a comeback and have another fight his year, probably around the summertime this year,” he told Hatton TV.

“There’s been no opponent that has been confirmed yet and there’s been no date confirmed yet. But the point is that I have made my mind up that I’m going to have one more fight.

“I’ve had a good break, a good time off and a good time to reflect and put that last fight behind me and really get over it and get my mind straight.

“I think after the Mayweather defeat I jumped straight into action and I didn’t really perform my best. This time I’ve had a good rest, recharged the batteries and had a really good think. I’m happy to get back at it now.”

Although fighting again is now at the forefront of his mind, it will have to be put back a short time, so he can get the last bit of non boxing time before the hard work begins, he added: “I go on holiday next week with my girlfriend to Australia and then when I get back, although I haven’t got a date yet, I’m going to go straight back into training.

“Weight-wise, I’ve got a little bit more to carry than I normally do. In order to do that, I’m going to go straight into training and shed the weight. When the date comes, I will do my usual 12-week training camp.”

Hatton who although says the fire is back in his belly and he as missed performing, still doesn’t want to look to far into the future and other fights, when he admitted that it will depend on how he performs in his comeback.

“I’m going to have one more fight, maybe two more fights,” he added. “It all depends on the performance in the first fight. It would be very foolish of me to say ‘two more fights, three more fights’.

“It’s always hard coming back from defeat but there were reasons for that (loss to Pacquiao) from the way my training camp went.

“There were times when I should’ve taken my foot off the gas and I wasn’t allowed to do that. In the latter stages of my training…it took a lot less of a fighter than Manny Pacquiao to knock me out.

“Bearing that in my mind, that’s what has made me want to come back, because I know things could have gone better. But, you know, we will soon find out.

“I’ve set the wheels in motion for my retirement, so I’m not going to have too many more fights. At the moment I’m only definitely going to have just one more.”

Hatton is adament he will take on a big name rather than fighting an opponent he can easily beat simply to pad out his record.

“It’s got to be a top-10 ranked pound-for-pound fighter or a world champion of some sort,” Hatton stated. “I could not have one more fight and people look at me and say ‘he’s just had this fight just to knock someone over and end his career on top’.