Hatton admits he's brutal

IBO lightwelterweight champion Ricky Hatton, the personification of a British Bulldog, was quoted in the March 2009 issue of Boxing Digest Magazine as considering a shift to mixed martial arts because in his own words, “I’m a brutal fighter.”

Hatton, 30, is booked to stake his crown against Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on May 2.

“You can never say no,” said Hatton, referring to the possible move. “MMA is a little bit brutal and I’d say I’m a brutal fighter. But boxing is very much my sport and I’d like to think I have a few more years in that yet.”

Trying to soften his image, Hatton recently turned his proposal of marriage to long-time girlfriend Jennifer Dooley into a publicity stunt. They’ve been living together for four years but Hatton popped the question only last Valentine’s Day during a Caribbean cruise.

Hatton, who has a son Campbell from a previous relationship, is known as a beer-guzzling, fastfood-eating, irreverent barroom brawler whose shocking lack of manners belies a rough upbringing. He met his fiancée when they were five-year-old schoolmates in the primaries.

Obviously, Hatton is courting widespread support from English fans – educated or otherwise – to back up his bid to dethrone Pacquiao as the world’s No. 1 boxer, pound-for-pound. Turning romantic had to be part of a script.

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Ring Magazine editor Nigel Collins said in the Pacquiao-Hatton fight, “we can expect a vast contingency of Brits to make the pilgrimage (to Las Vegas) and even more to watch at home on pay-per-view...when Hatton fought (Floyd) Mayweather in 2007, the US PPV was a healthy 850,000 but that paled in comparison with the 1.4 million buys generated in the UK...so regardless of the venue, (the fight) promises to be a major international attraction.”

In his fight contract, Pacquiao is guaranteed a purse of $13 million plus a 52 percent share of the pay-per-view upside or after cable distribution and operating expenses on both sides of the Atlantic.

Collins described Hatton as “another everyman who remains close to his roots regardless of the size of his bank balance.” Hatton is being packaged in English media as a folk hero in an attempt to offset Pacquiao’s iconic global popularity.

Although news of Hatton’s proposal spread far and wide, no date was set for the marriage. Hatton could be taking everyone, including Jennifer, for a ride.

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By the way, London-based Filipino accountant Jerome Levi Reyes – who’s a regular Star blogger as morpheus with the Wanbol Uni group – recently sent an e-mail sharing his experience with two English boxing fans.

Here’s what he said:

“I was buying a copy of Boxing Monthly, featuring the up-and-coming mega fight of Hatton and Manny, at the W. H. Smith bookstore near my office and as I queued to the cashier, the British lad in front stared at me and asked, ‘Are you a Filipino?’ Surprised by his query and thinking he just seemed to notice my tanned Asian features, I replied, ‘Yes, why?’ ‘Damn, your guy is great,’ he answered back. Having no idea at first of what he was talking about until I saw him holding the same boxing magazine, I somewhat understood he was referring to Manny. ‘You mean, the Pacman?’ I clarified and pointed to Manny’s picture on the magazine cover.

“He nodded then began to animatedly narrate Manny’s masterful demolition of Oscar de la Hoya. The other guy at the back joined our chat which slowly shifted to the Hatton fight and we discussed how Hatton would fare against Manny. To my surprise, they were split on their take – one picking Hatton and the other Manny.

“It was a strange experience, being in the middle of two passionate British fans debating on Hatton’s chances against my kababayan. I couldn’t help but feel proud that in this part of the world, they knew the Pacman, more than I do, well, almost.

“Although we wish to see them fight at Wembley Stadium in front of cheering Filipinos and a record-breaking crowd, we’re not complaining in any way. We’ll still watch the fight on TV in the wee hours of May 2 (or will it be May 3 in London?), perhaps with the barkada in one roof, with sisig and kilawin on the table and some beers to boot – as we always do. We will watch Manny gladly carry the weight of the entire Philippines into the ring with him, just like he always does.

“And for sure at around 5 a.m., we may awake the neighbors in the adjoining flats with our roaring cheers every time Manny lands his punches on Hatton. They may call 999 and summon the police but who cares? As long as we see Manny put up a gallant stand and win the fight, we don’t care spending the rest of the day at the police station.”