The former welterweight champion discusses his fight against Kostya Tszyu 20 years on and Manny Pacquiao's boxing comeback.
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What do you remember from your fight with Kostya Tszyu 20 years on?
It was really something special. When you think about beating the champion who had all of the belts, was the pound for pound number two in boxing, and was probably the most feared fighter or opponent because he was a punching machine and a right powerhouse. He was knocking everybody out for fun. Everyone thought with my style and coming forward with his power. I don’t think anyone gave me a chance, so it was funny how it panned out the way it did.
What was your mindset going into that fight?
I got up in the morning and went to the Butty Box in Hyde (Manchester) ironically to have my full English breakfast. I always did (have a full English breakfast), I’m Ricky Fatton so what do you expect? I went and they had all of the newspapers there: the Daily Mirror, the Daily Mail and The Sun. I picked them up as I’m having my breakfast and I think The Sun had me to get beaten inside two rounds, the Mirror had me not going past six rounds and that it would be over in three rounds by the Daily Mail.
Not only did they not have me winning, they had me getting knocked out and it was the same whether it was Boxing News or Boxing Monthly. There was not one. The only two people that thought we were going to win was myself and Billy Graham. On the night of the fight, even though the whole of Manchester and the UK wanted me to win, and at the Manchester Arena where I was so loved, I could feel the tension in the air. Everyone was behind me and saying, “you can do it Ricky’” but there was a nervousness in the air and their brains were thinking “this could go tits up this”. As the fight went one way and then the other, you could feel the crowd behind me and the noise was unbelievable, I’ve never heard anything like it.
But when I lost my way a little bit and Kostya was coming on strong, you could hear sirens go over the arena as if everyone was thinking, “oh s***’ here it comes”. I remember every second of every round and how I felt at the time. It was an emotional rollercoaster.
How did you celebrate?
There was an afterparty at the Renaissance Hotel. The fight went the full distance, ended at 2am and by the time they presented the belt and did the celebrations, it all probably finished at 3am and then we had the post-fight press conference. By the time that finished, it was 3:30am so I didn’t get to the afterparty until about 4am. I went there and it was still packed with lots of former world champions there and it was brilliant.
I must have left the party at about 7am and when I left, the sunshine was out, you could hear the birds tweeting and people were still singing “there’s only one Ricky Hatton” walking up Deans Gate. For my dream win, if I could have written down on a piece of paper as to how I would’ve wanted it to happen, it couldn’t have happened as good as it did. My home town in Manchester, a packed arena with nobody expecting me to win and if I did win it would be one of the best wins in a British boxing ring, and for it to be against a formidable punching machine like he was and to make him quit on his stool, was unbelievable.
The sportsmanship after when I got the microphone and congratulated Kostya Tszyu on a great career, being a great champion and for giving me the opportunity, and then Kostya took the microphone and said you were better than me in every way and offered to give me his help if I ever needed it, it was fairy tale stuff. It was a dream night.
Manny Pacquiao is making a comeback, can he win the world title?
I hope he does win but I think Mario Barrios is a good opponent and is a very good champion. I worry because at the lighter weights, you need more of the speed. George Foreman could go on at heavyweight because he could pace himself, the fight is at a slower pace and all you need is that one punch, which ultimately that was all Big George needed – that one big punch. But at the lighter weights, where it’s a little bit faster and you need more timing rather than at heavyweight, I worry. I don’t think it is good for boxing, but I hope Manny can do it.
He will add further to his legacy, but I believe he will be up against it and may have bitten off more than he can chew. But the fact that he can be out of the ring for over four or five years and come straight back into the top 5 of the WBC rankings and fight for a world title is a bit of a p***take. Firstly, what has happened to the rankings system and two, if you have grafted all of your career to get to number one in the rankings and then Manny decides to make a comeback and leapfrogs you, I would be proper p***** off. Sadly, it’s another sign of how boxing is going.
There are a lot of good things in boxing, especially with what Turki Al-Sheikh is doing. He’s making the best fight the best. Every now and again, you have the Mike Tyson and Jake Paul fight and then this fight after Manny was out for five years. I don’t get it. Manny stepping into the ring is a dangerous move. If he was 46 and going into an exhibition like when I did my exhibition with Marco Antonio Barrera, no problem. Nobody got hurt.
But Manny back at 46 and fighting for a world title, there is a risk of him getting hurt. It should be taken out of the fighters’ hands. If Manny wants to come back and do an exhibition fight, then no problem because he is in good shape. But to fight for a world title, that’s too much for me.
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