Biography of Ricky Hatton

Ricky Hatton, born on October 6, 1978, in Stockport, England, comes from a family with a background in football. His father, Ray Hatton, was a former football player. As a child, Ricky initially pursued kickboxing but was told that his legs were too short for the sport. This prompted him to switch to boxing.

In 1996, Ricky won a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships, losing to Russian boxer Timur Nergadze in the semifinals. The following year, he became the British champion in the light welterweight division among amateurs. In 1999, the British Boxing Writers' Association named Ricky the best young boxer. His promoter, Frank Warren, described him as the most talented boxer to emerge from Britain since Naseem Hamed.

Even before establishing himself as an amateur boxer, Ricky realized the power of body shots. Inspired by the legendary Roberto Duran, who also favored body punches, Ricky incorporated this technique into his style.

Ricky made his professional debut on September 11, 1997, at the age of 18, and his opponent didn't last a single round. Just three months later, on December 19, 1997, he fought abroad for the first time at the famous Madison Square Garden and won a four-round decision against Robert Alvarez.

On May 29, 1999, in his thirteenth professional fight, Ricky won the WBO International title in the light welterweight division by technical knockout in the fourth round against Dillon Carew. He successfully defended his title five times and, on September 23, 2000, added the WBA International title to his collection by defeating Italian boxer Giuseppe Lauri.

Despite his success against European and world-class boxers, Ricky has shown a susceptibility to cuts, which posed a threat to his career. In a fight against Gilbert Quarios on June 10, 2000, Ricky's face was covered in blood by the end of the first round, with a significant swelling under his left eye. However, Ricky quickly turned the tide with a devastating left hook to the body, knocking Quarios down and securing a knockout victory.

In his victorious bout against Lauri, who had only one previous loss in twenty fights, Ricky allowed his opponent to showcase his skills in the first three rounds. Ricky's right eye started to swell, and he suffered a broken nose from a clash of heads in the second round. However, Ricky fought back with fast and accurate combinations. In the fifth round, a four-punch combination, culminating in a powerful left hook, sent Lauri to the ropes. The referee intervened and stopped the fight.

During his fight against Jonathan Thaxton, which he won by decision, Ricky suffered an injury in the first 15 seconds and had to fight the entire bout with a severe cut above his left eye that required 28 stitches.

On March 26, 2001, Ricky knocked out Canadian lightweight champion Tony Pep in the fourth round and won the vacant WBU title in the light welterweight division. Pep was knocked down twice in the third round from body shots. The final knockdown ended the fight at 2 minutes and 31 seconds of the fourth round.

On February 9, 2002, Ricky successfully defended his title once again, defeating WBC's fourth-ranked contender Mikhail Krivolapov by technical knockout in the ninth round. This fight was televised by Showtime.

After his victory over Krivolapov, Ricky targeted a highly anticipated bout with Eamonn Magee. Despite being knocked down for the first time in his career in the first round from a counter right hook, Ricky continued to attack. Increasing his activity in the closing rounds, he celebrated a victory by scores of 116-111 and 115-112 (twice).

On April 5, 2003, Ricky scored a comprehensive victory over former world champion Vince Phillips, winning by unanimous decision. Ricky controlled the entire fight, as evident from the judges' scores of 119-109, 120-107, and 120-108.

A few months later, Ricky faced tough Ghanaian boxer Ben Tackie. The entire fight was dominated by Ricky, and the judges were unanimous in declaring his victory with scores of 118-110 and 120-109 (twice).

On October 1, 2004, Ricky fought American boxer Michael Stewart in a title eliminator for the IBF title in the light welterweight division, held by Costa Tszyu. Despite being knocked down twice in the first round, Stewart couldn't do anything against the much stronger Ricky, who won by technical knockout in the fifth round.

Just two months later, Ricky defended his title once again, defeating American Ray Oliveira by knockout in the tenth round.

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