RICKY Hatton will make light of losing out on a projected super-fight against Arturo Gatti and head straight back across the Atlantic for his next contest on December 9.
Hatton had been pencilled in for a showdown with all-action Gatti before the Atlantic City favourite was stopped by Carlos Baldomir in a WBC welterweight title bid at the weekend.
Gatti's loss leaves Oktay Urkal favourite to face Hatton next. Hatton will be stripped of his WBA welterweight crown if he does not immediately accommodate the claims of the Germany-based Turk.
Despite a fight with Urkal lacking broad Stateside appeal, Hatton's father Ray insisted today his next bout would definitely be back in the United States - where he narrowly beat Luis Collazo in May.
Hatton senior said: "Ricky will be fighting in a great American city in December and we have a number of options for his next opponent which will be finalised in the next few weeks.
Struggle
"Obviously the Gatti defeat altered our way of thinking because it was the fight everybody wanted to see but it is not going to happen now because he has been beaten."
Given Hatton's struggle after stepping up in weight to face Collazo, a meeting with the rock-hard Colombian Baldomir is surely completely out of the question.
Lightweight warriors Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo are also unlikely opponents at this stage but some of Hatton's options are believed to involve dropping back down to light-welterweight.
That would leave Hatton without a world title belt but Ray added: "We are not averse to giving up belts rather than being pushed in mandatory fights few people want to see.
"It is lovely and a great honour to have the belts but these days in the modern era of boxing it is big fights that the fans and the television companies want to see."
In the meantime Hatton is heading to China to watch his beloved Manchester City in pre-season action early next month before returning to start training before September.
"We felt that with Ricky having had such a hard year he needed a rest so that he could come back better than ever for some really tough fights that are on the horizon," added Ray.
"Ricky did not have enough time to prepare properly for Collazo due to matters out of our hands and he is keen to get back to basics so you can once again see the Ricky Hatton of old."
Who would you like to see Hatton fight? Have your say.
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going to see city play isnt my idea of relaxing. more like nerve jangling but hey if thats what our champ wants good on him!!
the big problem for ricky is that urkal is not a "name" in the US and the fight would not draw,why not fight baldimar?,this fight would make mega money for both fighters and in the post fight interview carlos stated he,d like to fight hatton or mayweather next ,gatti has had too many wars and looked a shot fighter ,the 3 fights he had with micky ward were classics ,i saw all three and the action was intense to say the least ,also the pasting at the hands of mayweather took a lot out of him and at 34 i realy think autoro should consider his future ,ricky has quite a few options up his sleeve and i,m sure billy graham will give him good council before deciding on his next opponent be it welter or lt welter i just hope its someone in the top 3 .
How about a rematch against Collazo since many people though he lost that fight in the first place. Prove it was a fluke like fighters like Mayweather, Jones, Taylor, and now Barrera have. Don't go back to Jr Welterweight to call out Lightweights to come up in weight to challenge you.
Cotto or
Mayweather
Or failing those two
Baldomir
FA should be pulling all the stops out to make these fights happen. No-one else is acceptable at this stage in his career. He is talking of retirement at 30 and is only fighting twice a year. He needs to fight these guys now if he wants to secure a legacy. If he isn't ready now, he never will be.
u should b fightin maweather or baldomir instead of wantin 2 fight ppl tht ppl havnt really heard of
how bout a fight wif zab judah gd slick boxer
i think u should give collozo a rematch fight baldomir then mayweather then retrire
I would love to see Hatton against Miguel Cotto, Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo, or Juan Diaz
Ricky is not strong enough at welter to beat the best. Hope he goes back down to jr. welter.
HATTON VS. COTTO WOULD BE GREAT
Hatton needs to stay at light welter, if he fights baldomir he'll suffer the same fate as Gatti, I think he was very lucky to get the decision against Luis Collazo, Collazo hurt him badly and the step up in weight really showed. Baldomir is a tough guy only having been stopped once in a 58 fight career so i doubt Ricky can hurt him. Ricky should stay at light welter, where there is some good fights for him. He could fight Cotto, Castillo, the winner between Witter and Corley for the WBC or he could set up a showdown with mayweather or judah, Hatton holds the ace card because he's an exciting and marketable fighter(good for pay-per-view) and because of his last fight the top guys will be confident of taking his scalp.
all i can say is that if ricky retires without a title all the blood ,sweat, and tears will have been wasted,ricks a credit to the game without a doubt ,and will finish his career a wealthy man ,but sometimes money is not enough is it ,i think rick is a sort of person who wants to be known as a guy who ducked nobody win lose or draw ,so why not take on baldimar instead of gatti?,after of course he has beat oktay urkal.
Ricky needs to remain a light-welter. He's too small, and too game for his own good, to fight at welterweight. This is no knock on Ricky! He's a fantastic, all-action fighter, much-appreciated by fans all around the globe, but the Collazo fight was a warning to be heeded. Bigger men, and much bigger punchers (such as Antonio Margarito) reside in the welterweight division, so instead of putting himself at a disadvantage solely for the sake of the all-mighty dollar (or pound or euro), Ricky should take a page from, say, former middleweight champ Marvin Hagler, and remain at the light welter, the weight where he is most effective. There are many attractive matches for Ricky at lightwelter, against equally exciting fighters like Cotto, Castillo or Morales, that should help cement Ricky's legacy as one-for-the-ages. RICKY, DON'T FIGHT AT WELTERWEIGHT AGAIN!
hi danny ,i,m inclined to agree with you ,trouble is we both know both divisions are chock full of talent at this moment in time and if ricks stripped of his welter belt where do,s he go from there?,the whole situation is a bit silly to say the least ,a fight with the winner of the upcoming witter vs corley fight is mouthwatering and rick has old scores to settle should witter win , judah and mayweather are both full blown welters now by the way ,anyway whatever happens ,the next few months are going to be interesting indeed .
Colin
Agreed, but personally I'd avoid Witter if I were Ricky; not because he will suffer defeat in that fight, but because, at this moment in their respective careers, Ricky has less to win (and more to lose) than does Junior. I want to see this fight, but save it for later, when Ricky's options are more limited than they are at this point in time. Besides, Junior needs to make himself a more attractive, money-making opponent, so besides chop-chopping down Corley he needs to defeat an even bigger name fighter, say, like in a rematch with Zab Judah. If I were Witter I'd go for Cotto, who is a fine fighter, but whose chin will be vulnerable to the power of Junior Witter. For Ricky Hatton, fight Mayweather at Welter, if you can, for Pretty Boy is a small Welter himself; but DO NOT make a permanent move north of Light-Welter; with Ricky's all-action style and the money fighting in Manchester and/or on HBO can garner, he shouldn't have to go looking for championships in his natural division. One more time: I like Ricky Hatton alot; but I fear for his long-term health if he fights on a regular basis the bigger boys at Welterweight.
i would love to see Rickey fightFloyde Mayweather! i Believe Ricly has what it takes to pull off the upset!!!!!!!111
hatton vs mayweather
or cotto
I will like to see hatton Back at 140/ Faceing Gatti who is so stronger at 140 to that will make a big buzz for early Jan. Both fighter are faster and stronger at 140....... .
Rasheed
Arturo Gatti is finished; losing to Mayweather and Baldomir proves that. Neither fight was close; Gatti should hand them up before he gets hurt permanently.
Hatton has the same rugged, slugging style as Gatti and therefore a more limited shelf-life than, say, a boxer like Mayweather; so if I were Ricky I'd only go for those fights that will maximize his prestige and bank account, perhaps in this order: Vicious Vivian Harris (just to shut him up), then an up-from-lightweight Castillo or Corales (Oh, what a promise of fireworks!), and then on to Cotto for the championship. If Ricky can win all of them he be in a commanding position to garner a fight versus Floyd Mayweather. Other than that, I wouldn't accept any other fights at welterweight.
cotto,but maybe castillio depending
bang on with your thoughts dan,the 3 wars gatti had with micky ward must have taken a lot out of him for sure ,autoro should retire now while he,s still got his marbles intact ,the big problem for rick is that if he do,s not defend against urkal he,ll be stripped of his third belt without stepping in the ring ,for me this is a very sad state of affairs to say the least ,i,m well aware its all down to money and politics these days ,but i just can,t understand why rick moved up a div to fight collazo won the title then stated he was going back down to lt welter !having already been stripped of both 140lbs belts ,whoever ricky fights next in dec will be interesting indeed .
WHEN RICKY BEAT LUIS COLLAZO FOR THE WELTER BELT IN THE POST FIGHT INTERVIEW HE PROMISED LUIS A RETURN MATCH WHICH HE LATER WENT BACK ON ,NOW THAT THE WITTER vsCORLEY LT WELTER TITLE FIGHT IS DUE IN SEPT IF WITTER WINS WILL RICK KEEP HIS PROMISE TO FIGHT HIM WHEN HE WINS A WORLD TITLE ,I REALY THINK ITS ABOUT TIME TO WALK THE WALK AND NOT TALK THE TALK FOR RICKY.