With a knockout card February 26, to kick start 2011,Ricky Hatton hopes Hatton Promotions will show it means business.
Sky Sports will televised the show live, which is headed by Stephen Foster Jr who makes the first defence of his European super-featherweight title against Ermano Fegatilli.
Ricky said: “Bolton is becoming a town where Hatton Promotions are staging more and more shows and that will continue.
“The support we have had from the local community, the staff at De Veres and Bolton Wanderers FC has been superb.
“They see that we are doing our best to bring top class boxing to the town and hopefully we will have a major world title fight there soon.”
Showing posts with label Ricky Hatton Promotions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ricky Hatton Promotions. Show all posts
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Ricky Hatton needs a fight his demons, says CEO of Hatton Promotions
Ricky Hatton “has demons” and wants a scheduled fight to find his discipline, Gareth Williams, CEO of Hatton Promotions, has told Telegraph Sport.
Williams also claimed that if Hatton decides to make a comeback, he is stillness the biggest box office draw in the country, outside of a heavyweight unification contest between David Haye and one of the Klitschko brothers.
“The more time I spend with Ricky, the more I think he will fight again. I never thought I’d say this but I think it is safer for him to fight because he needs the discipline. He’s an ‘all or nothing’ guy,” said Williams.
Williams also disclosed that Hatton has been back in training in the gym, and took part in a charity football match last weekend between a celebrity England team and a Rest Of The World XI. “He was training last week as if he was in the first week of training with a fight coming up in three months’ time,” he said.
Hatton has not fought since he was knocked out in two rounds by Manny Pacquiao in a Las Vegas ring 13 months ago.
“If he had a fight in four months’ time, he’d have five per cent body fat and would be in phenomenal shape. He needs a target, he needs focus," Williams said.
“I would never push Ricky to fight, it makes no difference to me personally - I just get on with promoting his company. Boxing is an all or nothing sport, you do not have the benefit of being substituted or bowling slower, as with football or cricket, you cannot even play at a lower level.
"If you are not 100 per cent fit, the consequences can be devastating. Ricky has always said that only he will know if and when he will fight again. I will support whatever decision he makes.
"There are plenty of demons left there after the Manny Pacquiao fight, and in Ricky’s mind, there is unfinished business. He was definitely not prepared correctly for the Pacquiao fight.
“Michael Katsidis would be a perfect fight for him. He’s a big name and it would be a good fight for Ricky, and it would be a good fight in England that would work on Sky Box Office.”
Williams insisted Hatton is still the biggest box office fighter in England.
"I obviously spend a lot of time with him and this last 12 months we have visited America, South Africa, China and Australia. The amount of recognition and attention he gets is phenomenal," he said.
“Whatever happens he has achieved so much. If he never fights again, he will go down as one of the great British fighters, and the good thing is that he does not have to fight again for financial reasons, and not many boxers can say that.”
Williams also claimed that if Hatton decides to make a comeback, he is stillness the biggest box office draw in the country, outside of a heavyweight unification contest between David Haye and one of the Klitschko brothers.
“The more time I spend with Ricky, the more I think he will fight again. I never thought I’d say this but I think it is safer for him to fight because he needs the discipline. He’s an ‘all or nothing’ guy,” said Williams.
Williams also disclosed that Hatton has been back in training in the gym, and took part in a charity football match last weekend between a celebrity England team and a Rest Of The World XI. “He was training last week as if he was in the first week of training with a fight coming up in three months’ time,” he said.
Hatton has not fought since he was knocked out in two rounds by Manny Pacquiao in a Las Vegas ring 13 months ago.
“If he had a fight in four months’ time, he’d have five per cent body fat and would be in phenomenal shape. He needs a target, he needs focus," Williams said.
“I would never push Ricky to fight, it makes no difference to me personally - I just get on with promoting his company. Boxing is an all or nothing sport, you do not have the benefit of being substituted or bowling slower, as with football or cricket, you cannot even play at a lower level.
"If you are not 100 per cent fit, the consequences can be devastating. Ricky has always said that only he will know if and when he will fight again. I will support whatever decision he makes.
"There are plenty of demons left there after the Manny Pacquiao fight, and in Ricky’s mind, there is unfinished business. He was definitely not prepared correctly for the Pacquiao fight.
“Michael Katsidis would be a perfect fight for him. He’s a big name and it would be a good fight for Ricky, and it would be a good fight in England that would work on Sky Box Office.”
Williams insisted Hatton is still the biggest box office fighter in England.
"I obviously spend a lot of time with him and this last 12 months we have visited America, South Africa, China and Australia. The amount of recognition and attention he gets is phenomenal," he said.
“Whatever happens he has achieved so much. If he never fights again, he will go down as one of the great British fighters, and the good thing is that he does not have to fight again for financial reasons, and not many boxers can say that.”
Friday, September 25, 2009
Ricky Hatton: Learning the nurturing game
Ricky Hatton was back in the gym this week, but don’t expect him to be announcing a comeback yet. It is nearly five months since Hatton was knocked cold by Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas and while returning to the ring is the last thing on the former world light welterweight champion’s mind, he is about to take the longest step in his next career as a promoter.
Matthew Macklin faces Amin Asikainen, of Finland, for the vacant European middleweight title at Manchester Velodrome, tonight. It is a prestigious title for Hatton Promotions’ first televised show, a title formerly held by a host of the sport’s biggest names, from Marcel Cerdan through Laszlo Papp, Nino Benvenuti and Alan Minter, to Tony Sibson and Herol Graham. And the excitement is gripping Hatton.
“I don’t think anything can replace the thrill of getting in the ring, but the next best thing to being a champion is making one,” Hatton said. “Ricky Hatton without boxing in his life would be a bit of a lost man.
“I enjoy looking our prospects in the gym, watching them spar or go on the pads and passing on my experience.” Since setting up his promotional company earlier this year, Hatton has gone on a strict recruitment drive and staged small-hall shows across the country. Tonight is the first of an eight-show deal with Sky and Hatton hopes to make an impact.
“I suppose the dream would be to build a fighter to box at the City of Manchester stadium in front of 60,000,” he said. “I’m sure when Frank Warren and Golden Boy started out they dreamed of being the best and I’m no change.
“I’ve learnt a lot of things with all the promoters I have worked with, some good, some bad. The way I was brought through (by Warren) was absolutely perfect. The right fights at the right time, plenty of fights and staying busy.
“If I would have had my way, I would have fought Kostya Tszyu two years before I did. But that would have been the wrong thing to do, I wouldn’t have been ready. When I did fight him it was exactly the right time. That’s what I have to do for our young boxers, get them the right type of fights at the right time.”
At 27, Macklin believes his time is now. In March, he won the British title with an impressive three-round stoppage of Wayne Elcock and the Brummie, who sparred hundred of rounds with Hatton when they were both trained by Billy Graham, feels he is now ready to fulfil his potential after earlier disappointments.
Three years ago, Macklin challenged Jamie Moore for the British light-middleweight title but was viciously weight drained and was knocked unconscious in the tenth round after a vicious bout. Severe evaporation has been linked to serious injuries in boxing.
“I was kidding myself that I could make the weight when I had just outgrown the division,” Macklin said. “On the morning of the weigh-in I was 11st 5lb (5lb above the limit), I have no idea how I made the weight.
“At the end of the third round I was more tired than I’d ever been in my life, I fought every round like it was going to be my last. I remember being in the ambulance and having flashes of Michael Watson and Gerald McClellan.
“I will not do anything that stupid again. I am stronger at middleweight. Asikainen is rated No 6 by The Ring and has a win over Sebastian Sylvester, who just won the IBF title. If I win, Ricky thinks that fight can be made.”
As for Hatton’s own future, he has an open mind and was shown by the brilliant return of Floyd Mayweather Jr, his former opponent, that a period of inactivity is not necessarily a bad thing.
“When Floyd retired, I’m sure he meant it,” Hatton said. “For me, it’s only been four months. At the moment I don’t have the urge. You have got to want to do it. You have to have the urge to get up in the morning and do all the training and to make the weight. At the moment I don’t.
“What I need at the moment is have a rest. Maybe I will get the urge back. If I boxed again a year after the fight, you couldn’t call that a retirement. I’m just having a break.”
Matthew Macklin faces Amin Asikainen, of Finland, for the vacant European middleweight title at Manchester Velodrome, tonight. It is a prestigious title for Hatton Promotions’ first televised show, a title formerly held by a host of the sport’s biggest names, from Marcel Cerdan through Laszlo Papp, Nino Benvenuti and Alan Minter, to Tony Sibson and Herol Graham. And the excitement is gripping Hatton.
“I don’t think anything can replace the thrill of getting in the ring, but the next best thing to being a champion is making one,” Hatton said. “Ricky Hatton without boxing in his life would be a bit of a lost man.
“I enjoy looking our prospects in the gym, watching them spar or go on the pads and passing on my experience.” Since setting up his promotional company earlier this year, Hatton has gone on a strict recruitment drive and staged small-hall shows across the country. Tonight is the first of an eight-show deal with Sky and Hatton hopes to make an impact.
“I suppose the dream would be to build a fighter to box at the City of Manchester stadium in front of 60,000,” he said. “I’m sure when Frank Warren and Golden Boy started out they dreamed of being the best and I’m no change.
“I’ve learnt a lot of things with all the promoters I have worked with, some good, some bad. The way I was brought through (by Warren) was absolutely perfect. The right fights at the right time, plenty of fights and staying busy.
“If I would have had my way, I would have fought Kostya Tszyu two years before I did. But that would have been the wrong thing to do, I wouldn’t have been ready. When I did fight him it was exactly the right time. That’s what I have to do for our young boxers, get them the right type of fights at the right time.”
At 27, Macklin believes his time is now. In March, he won the British title with an impressive three-round stoppage of Wayne Elcock and the Brummie, who sparred hundred of rounds with Hatton when they were both trained by Billy Graham, feels he is now ready to fulfil his potential after earlier disappointments.
Three years ago, Macklin challenged Jamie Moore for the British light-middleweight title but was viciously weight drained and was knocked unconscious in the tenth round after a vicious bout. Severe evaporation has been linked to serious injuries in boxing.
“I was kidding myself that I could make the weight when I had just outgrown the division,” Macklin said. “On the morning of the weigh-in I was 11st 5lb (5lb above the limit), I have no idea how I made the weight.
“At the end of the third round I was more tired than I’d ever been in my life, I fought every round like it was going to be my last. I remember being in the ambulance and having flashes of Michael Watson and Gerald McClellan.
“I will not do anything that stupid again. I am stronger at middleweight. Asikainen is rated No 6 by The Ring and has a win over Sebastian Sylvester, who just won the IBF title. If I win, Ricky thinks that fight can be made.”
As for Hatton’s own future, he has an open mind and was shown by the brilliant return of Floyd Mayweather Jr, his former opponent, that a period of inactivity is not necessarily a bad thing.
“When Floyd retired, I’m sure he meant it,” Hatton said. “For me, it’s only been four months. At the moment I don’t have the urge. You have got to want to do it. You have to have the urge to get up in the morning and do all the training and to make the weight. At the moment I don’t.
“What I need at the moment is have a rest. Maybe I will get the urge back. If I boxed again a year after the fight, you couldn’t call that a retirement. I’m just having a break.”
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