Ricky Hatton faces up to his biggest fight
Ricky Hatton may have thought he was in trouble in that second round against Manny Pacquiao, but now he’s finds himself in something much worse.
“The Hitman” has been caught up in a newspaper drugs sting as, like so many other former fighters, he turns to drink and drugs having struggled to find a place for himself outside the world of a professional boxer.
The former two-division champ was filmed by the News of the World snorting cocaine amid reports his wild life style has got out of control. Hatton issued a statement through publicist Max Clifford who said: “In his own words, he’s been in a bad place for some time, probably before even his last fight.
“He feels devastated and we all hope this will be the wake-up call.”
There have been further stories of Hatton’s hedonistic partying and drinking and although it has always been well documented that The Hitman enjoyed a tipple, few realised how out of hand it was.
Of course Hatton wouldn’t be the first fighter to seek salvation by hitting drugs. Earlier this year Joe Calzaghe had similar cocaine accusations levelled at him and they are hardly the first, there is a huge history of boxers who have turned to drink and drugs when their careers ended from Barney Ross to Sonny Liston and Mike Tyson.
Friends and family are worried Hatton will go the way of fellow British sporting favourite Paul Gascoigne. Like “Gazza”, Hatton has wandered around post career bemused as to what to with himself now he is no longer a king of the ring. Having been at the top of his game and world champion it looks like The Hitman’s fighting days are over and while he has seemed relatively content to work on his promotion company and manage a stable of fighters you could tell he missed the thrill of the sport.
Unfortunately for Hatton he has nothing left to prove as a boxer. He has beaten everyone other than Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, who are by far the best of their generation. He hit a wall in terms of where his career can go and short of some sort of outstanding comeback where he performs a miracle and beats them there’s nothing he can do other than trudge through lesser opponents.
As a fighter his discipline was often called into question as his weight would balloon between fights with his diet of Guinness and fry-ups. Yet he was always a fan pleaser, a charismatic and funny individual as well as an exciting fighter to watch and many will be shocked with his descent into drug taking.
He looks set to deal with the problem head on and enter rehab in order to sort himself out as Clifford told Talk Sport today: "I think he'll be going today and will talk to the people that are experts in these circumstances and the intention is that he'll be looked after and hopefully will listen and follow what they tell him and what treatment they give him.
"He needs expert advice and help as anybody in these circumstances does and from the conversation I had with him yesterday that will start today.”
Meanwhile former Hatton foe Mayweather has found himself in trouble as well following allegations that he assaulted the mother of his children, Josie Harris. This comes hot on the heels of a racist tirade that Mayweather unleashed against Pacquiao that somehow got on to YouTube as Mayweather aims to set new records in reasons not like someone.
“Money May” was arrested for assault and later released on bail. He is due in court on November 9th which is ironically a mere four days before the date he was meant to fight Pacquiao.
If the allegations are proved true Mayweather may have picked a fight that he cannot win.
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