Hatton reresbak kay Mayweather

Hanggang ngayon ay humihingi pa rin ng rematch si Briton world light welterweight titlist Ricky Hatton kay American world five-division champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

At naniniwala ang tubong Manchester, England na mangyayari lamang ang kanilang muling paghaharap ni Mayweather kung matatalo niya si Filipino world-four division king Manny Pacquiao sa Mayo 2 sa MGM Grand Garden Arena sa Las Vegas, Nevada. 

“How much further can you go than the best pound for pound fighter in the world? If I was to win it, I would have achieved my ultimate goal, but then the only last thing I would like to do would be to have a crack at Mayweather,” ani Hatton sa BBC Sports kahapon. 

Kagaya ni Hatton, target rin nina Pacquiao at American trainer Freddie Roach si Mayweather, bronze medalist sa 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. 

“I told Manny I’d like to see him fight two more fights then he can retire -- this fight, then Floyd, and if he wins those two fights he can call it a day,” ani Roach. “He’ll have enough money he can secure his family then get into politics, or whatever he wants to do. But it doesn’t work in the opposite order, you can’t have Floyd first and then Hatton. This is the fight I wanted and this is the fight I expected to happen right away.”

Isang tenth-round TKO ang iniskor ni Mayweather kay Hatton sa kanilang World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight championship noong Disyembre ng 2007 kasunod ang biglaang pagreretiro ni “Pretty Boy”.

“I keep going on about how I thought I was outdone by the ref. Let’s find out if it was the ref or weather he was that good,” ani Hatton kay Mayweather. “I’d like to do that to prove myself. I can go further than Pacquiao and if I do beat him the furthest is to put the record straight with Mayweather. I owe it to myself -- I don’t want to retire without giving it another crack.”

 Laban kay Pacquiao, kumpiyansa si Hatton na magigng matagumpay ang kanyang pagdedepensa sa suot niyang International Boxing Organization (IBO) light welterweight crown at ang Ring Magazine title. 

“I’m filled to the brim with confidence that I’m winning this fight. A lot of people thought in the early days that I wouldn’t become a world champion. People said ‘he’s not bad but he’s not quite good enough.’ But I’ve won world titles at two different weights and the only thing left for me to achieve is to become the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world,” ani Hatton. (RCadayona)