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| Hatton was left battered and bruised by Vyacheslav Sencehnko. |
The comeback was for the right reasons: renewed vigour and
enthusiasm along with a burning desire to show the world 'the real Ricky
Hatton' was the catalyst to get back in the ring. It wasn’t for the money.
But ultimately Team Hatton miscalculated and underestimated the live threat of a man that was the WBA welterweight champion as recently as April.
But ultimately Team Hatton miscalculated and underestimated the live threat of a man that was the WBA welterweight champion as recently as April.
They hand picked Vyacheslav Senchenko, 33-1 (22), in what
they saw as a 'tune-up' fight to access the world title scene once again.
Instead of fighting an eight rounder against a lesser
opponent (Junior Witter, anyone?) to shake off the rust he dived straight into
the deep end. It was like seeing an old
gun slinger getting done by his own gun.
A perfectly executed liver shot, a trademark Hatton punch in his pomp, from Senchenko in the ninth crushed Hatton's dream's of fighting for potential world titles in Las Vegas and at Manchester City’s City of Manchester stadium. The Hitman is back into retirement and this time for good.
It was staggering to see one of the judges at ringside had Hatton up by four at the time of the stoppage (Robin Dolpiere was scoring the contest 78-74 for Hatton). He must have been watching the fight with Hatton’s loyal and passionate supporters in the stands.
A perfectly executed liver shot, a trademark Hatton punch in his pomp, from Senchenko in the ninth crushed Hatton's dream's of fighting for potential world titles in Las Vegas and at Manchester City’s City of Manchester stadium. The Hitman is back into retirement and this time for good.
It was staggering to see one of the judges at ringside had Hatton up by four at the time of the stoppage (Robin Dolpiere was scoring the contest 78-74 for Hatton). He must have been watching the fight with Hatton’s loyal and passionate supporters in the stands.
From the fourth round onwards Hatton looked a shell of his
former self, as his head movement dropped off and Senchenko landed at ease with
too many straight shots.
The early rounds he did win were on sheer pressure, as
opposed to boxing ability - and an ageing Hatton wasn’t able to keep the work
rate up.
His timing was woeful, couldn't gage his range and Senchenko
controlled the distance. I had the Ukrainian up by two rounds at the time of
the KO.
It’s been well documented how Hatton has poisoned his body
down the years with alcohol and recreational drugs.
And after a three-and-a-half year absence from boxing he looked
miles away from the fighter than famously beat Kostya Tszyu
in the very same arena – arguably Hatton’s finest hour.
Hatton will rightly be remembered as one of the most popular and successful British boxers since the Second World War.
He came back for redemption - we just hope and prey he's now at peace with himself.
Hatton will rightly be remembered as one of the most popular and successful British boxers since the Second World War.
He came back for redemption - we just hope and prey he's now at peace with himself.
Here's what the national newspapers thought of Hatton’s
comeback.
The Guardian
You had to turn to p.12 (of 14) of The Guardian's sports supplement. In other words at the back next to the football results and tables.
There was at
least a teaser spot on the front page of the sports supplement: "Retired
Hatton can look in the mirror and be rightly proud of himself," says the
excellent Kevin Mitchell.
"There are few sadder sights in sport than a boxer in the aftermath of defeat, physically and spiritually spent, trying to rationalise the reality that has just consumed them," Mitchell goes on to write in a superbly written reflection on the Hatton comeback. Balanced and considered, this piece ties in the Hatton back story expertly on why he made the comeback.
The Daily Telegraph
There was no front page teaser on The Daily Telegraph's 28-page sports
pull-out, but on p.17 is a near full page report.
Chief sports reporter, Paul Hayward, gave this honest assessment: "Over pitching himself after three years of depression, drink and drugs, Hatton made a busy, forceful start but succumbed to raggedness and fatigue."
An unbiased and revealing piece from Hayward who goes on to say Hatton should be "judged on the high points first and the heartbreaks second." Hayward, like Mitchell says Hatton will be considered an all-time British great along with the likes of Joe Calzaghe, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank and Naseem Hamed.
Hayward also shows a heartfelt concern for Hatton's future well-being: "The worry is that Hatton will return to his maelstrom of substance addiction." Hopefully with his young family around him a repeat of that downward spiral after the Manny Pacquiao defeat will not surface.
The Times
Sports Newspaper of The Year, The Times, dedicated a full page to
Hatton's comeback fight on p.70 with the knowledgeable Ron Lewis reporting from
ringside.
"After a good start, it was clear that the best of Hatton was a long way behind him," he observed. There was no historical back story or reflection on Hatton being an all-time British great, but focused rather on the fight itself with insight from Hatton's trainer Bob Shannon. "He walked on to that right and he never recovered," recalled Shannon of the fourth round. Kudos to Lewis for gaining a different viewpoint.
Lewis also noted the fact that a potential rematch with Paulie Malignaggi was still being mooted after the fight: "With Hatton's support, it would have made money, but Hatton, who was ahead on all three judges' scorecards, did not come back for the money."
The Independent
The Independent assigned Hatton p.22 (of 24) of their Monday Sports pull-out. Was interesting to note they didn't send a photographer to the Manchester
Arena (photos provided by PA and Reuters) and the article was written by
Steve Bunce. While Bunce is a competent and assured boxing scribe, Bunce was in London with BoxNation duties - one wonders
if he watched the fight on Primetime or via an Internet stream?
But fair play to Bunce in finding space to credit Hatton's conqueror: "The fall guy in the drama, and it was a rare drama, was a nice kid from Ukraine called Vyacheslav Senchenko; he played his role with daring, survived the fanatically crowd, a few rounds of vintage Hatton and then conducted the collapse with a chilling ease that fools doubted he possessed."
Daily Express
The Daily Express squeezed their Hatton story across the foot of pages
52-53. The article was top heavy on quotes from the post-fight presser
and also reflected on Hatton's high's (beating Kostya Tszyu to become
world champion) and his lows (losing to Manny Pacquiao and the booze
and drugs which followed that painful loss).
"No British sportsman ever deserved more the title of People's champion," concluded John Dillon, chief sports writer at the Daily Express.
Daily Mail
In the Daily Mail (p.62), Jeff Powell interestingly remarked, "He rocked Senchenko several times and, had they been fighting at Hatton's prime poundage - light-welterweight - he might have forced the stoppage." Powell like many others always knew Hatton was never a full welter.
The Sun
"There was a macabre beauty about Hatton as he sat behind a scruffy
table deep in the bowles of the arena - that's if you can call a
battered face beautiful," wrote Pat Sheehan in The Sun (p.46) as he
focused largely on Hatton's post-fight comments rather than analysis of the fight or Hatton's predicament.
There's also views from Bob Shannon and Paulie Malignaggi.
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror provided an excellent two page spread (p.52-53) as David
Anderson reflected on the press conference as well as good analysis on
the fight. "As his adrenalin surge from the 20,000 crowd waned,
tiredness kicked in and Senchenko dominated from the sixth round
onwards," Anderson reported. But the most interesting piece of all in
the Daily Mirror's coverage is a comment from Senchenko. He said: "I
think there's enough in Ricky to carry on if he wanted to because he
showed that he was a very tough opponent with a very big heart."
Daily Star
Over two pages (p.48-49) Kevin Francis of the Daily Star provided plenty
of quotes from Hatton and remarked: "It was his first fight since his
horror KO at the hands of Manny Pacquiao in May 2009. But despite the
support of 20,000 diehard fans at the Manchester Arena he just couldn't
deliver."
The Guardian
You had to turn to p.12 (of 14) of The Guardian's sports supplement. In other words at the back next to the football results and tables.
 |
| The Guardian |
"There are few sadder sights in sport than a boxer in the aftermath of defeat, physically and spiritually spent, trying to rationalise the reality that has just consumed them," Mitchell goes on to write in a superbly written reflection on the Hatton comeback. Balanced and considered, this piece ties in the Hatton back story expertly on why he made the comeback.
The Daily Telegraph
Chief sports reporter, Paul Hayward, gave this honest assessment: "Over pitching himself after three years of depression, drink and drugs, Hatton made a busy, forceful start but succumbed to raggedness and fatigue."
An unbiased and revealing piece from Hayward who goes on to say Hatton should be "judged on the high points first and the heartbreaks second." Hayward, like Mitchell says Hatton will be considered an all-time British great along with the likes of Joe Calzaghe, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank and Naseem Hamed.
Hayward also shows a heartfelt concern for Hatton's future well-being: "The worry is that Hatton will return to his maelstrom of substance addiction." Hopefully with his young family around him a repeat of that downward spiral after the Manny Pacquiao defeat will not surface.
The Times
"After a good start, it was clear that the best of Hatton was a long way behind him," he observed. There was no historical back story or reflection on Hatton being an all-time British great, but focused rather on the fight itself with insight from Hatton's trainer Bob Shannon. "He walked on to that right and he never recovered," recalled Shannon of the fourth round. Kudos to Lewis for gaining a different viewpoint.
Lewis also noted the fact that a potential rematch with Paulie Malignaggi was still being mooted after the fight: "With Hatton's support, it would have made money, but Hatton, who was ahead on all three judges' scorecards, did not come back for the money."
The Independent
But fair play to Bunce in finding space to credit Hatton's conqueror: "The fall guy in the drama, and it was a rare drama, was a nice kid from Ukraine called Vyacheslav Senchenko; he played his role with daring, survived the fanatically crowd, a few rounds of vintage Hatton and then conducted the collapse with a chilling ease that fools doubted he possessed."
Daily Express
"No British sportsman ever deserved more the title of People's champion," concluded John Dillon, chief sports writer at the Daily Express.
Daily Mail
In the Daily Mail (p.62), Jeff Powell interestingly remarked, "He rocked Senchenko several times and, had they been fighting at Hatton's prime poundage - light-welterweight - he might have forced the stoppage." Powell like many others always knew Hatton was never a full welter.
The Sun
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror provided an excellent two page spread (p.52-53) as David
Anderson reflected on the press conference as well as good analysis on
the fight. "As his adrenalin surge from the 20,000 crowd waned,
tiredness kicked in and Senchenko dominated from the sixth round
onwards," Anderson reported. But the most interesting piece of all in
the Daily Mirror's coverage is a comment from Senchenko. He said: "I
think there's enough in Ricky to carry on if he wanted to because he
showed that he was a very tough opponent with a very big heart."Daily Star
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