Exclusive Ricky Hatton Interview: “I Want A Mayweather Rematch”

Ricky Hatton has opened up in an exclusive interview with Fair Betting Sites, professing his desires to fight old foe Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather in an exhibition fight, 15 years after their first bout.

In a wide-ranging interview, Hatton predicts Tyson Fury will finish Derek Chisora this coming Saturday, in what is scheduled to be the heavyweight’s third fight together. ‘The Hitman’ also urged Chisora to ‘hang up his gloves’ and retire after Saturday’s fight with Fury.

Hatton also predicts Tyson Fury will beat Anthony Joshua, saying he thinks “Tyson has Joshua beat in every department”.

For full transcript & interview material, visit: https://fairbettingsites.co.uk/blog/2022/11/30/exclusive-ricky-hatton-interview

If you would like to use the quotes from this interview, you must credit Fair Betting Sites and link to fairbettingsites.co.uk.

Here are the key stories from the interview:

• Fury WILL beat Chisora by late stoppage
• I would like to see Derek Chisora Retire after Fury fight on Saturday
• I want to fight Floyd Mayweather again in an exhibition
• Fury would beat Joshua (Tyson beats him in every department)
• Tommy Fury would beat Jake Paul all day long, no contest!
• Boxing has to modernise and accept YouTube fighters
• Fans must believe what Conor Benn says, that he’s not a cheat
• Taylor vs Serrano best fight off all time
• Increase in pay-per-view prices ‘is worrying’

Fury will finish Chisora by a late stoppage, Chisora should retire after Saturday

“I would probably say Tyson Fury by a late stoppage again. I love Derek Chisora to bits, he’s absolutely first class but I think there are a fair few miles on Derek’s clock now. Most definitely after this fight I would like to see Derek hang them up.

“I think Tyson is a little bit fresher, he’s got all the attributes that I’ve mentioned with the height and reach and I think Derek has been to the well a few times. Tyson by a late stoppage. It’ll be entertaining. Derek will bring it to him for however long it lasts. He might find that he’s hitting fresh air a few times but yes, I think Tyson will win via late stoppage.”

I want to fight Floyd Mayweather again in an Exhibition

Hatton has insisted he won’t rule out another exhibition fight in the future. One name he has already fought but would be opening to facing again is Floyd Mayweather.

This is what Hatton had to say on a potential fight with Mayweather:

“I’d most definitely look at it. One thing I did find hard was going into training camp at 44-years-old with the stress and strain on the body, it’s tough. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how old we get, we’re not dead. We’ve still got goals to strive for, targets to set in our lives. To share the ring with Floyd again would be a dream. I’d definitely look at it and weigh it up. Floyd has still been having a few fights and wouldn’t mind doing an exhibition, so I’d definitely look at it.

“Anything like that really. To do it against Marco Antonio Barrera who is a legend and who is a big name, Floyd Mayweather who is a legend and a big name, but I wouldn’t be arsed fighting a YouTuber. If I’m going to do an exhibition and a training camp, then I want to do it with a Marco Antonio Barrera, a Miguel Cotto, a Floyd Mayweather or someone like that because I’m getting something from it.

“I’m very fortunate that I’ve looked after my money. So I don’t need to do it for the money, it’s got to be something that gets my juices flowing. Something that’s going to get me going ‘Oh year, I can’t wait to get in the ring with him again. But if they said ‘would you like to fight someone you don’t know?’, I’d say ‘well, no!. What’s the point? Never heard of you so no!’ But if it’s someone like Floyd Mayweather then I’d certainly look at it, of course.”

Anthony Joshua no match for Tyson Fury (Fury beats Joshua in every department)

Hatton told Fair Betting Sites, “I think Tyson is just too good in every department. No disrespect intended to AJ and what he’s done. Olympic gold medalist, two-time heavyweight champion of the world – his legacy is cemented to a certain degree.

“This is the fight that they both need to have. AJ showed that he can be outboxed like he did against Usyk. When you think about it, Tyson is just a bigger Usyk. He’s got the height, he’s got the reach, he’s got the ability , he can box in southpaw, he can box orthodox, he can fight at the close-quarter range, he can fight at a distance – he’s just a good all rounder.

“With AJ though you don’t just get an olympic gold medal if you haven’t got the boxing ability. He’s also got punching power. If anybody is going to beat Tyson Fury, it probably will be Anthony Joshua.

“I just think that Tyson has all the advantages. He’s got the boxing brain, I think he can change his tactics mid fight and stuff like that. He’s so versatile. He can go to war, he can box at a distance, he has a wonderful defence, he can go southpaw, orthodox, and I don’t know if AJ – who has done the country really proud being two-tie heavyweight champion of the world, olympic gold medalist – I don’t know if he’s good enough to suss out the puzzle of Tyson Fury. I think he’d just be too clever and too good all round I think.

Tommy Fury would beat Jake Paul all day long, no contest!

Hatton said, “I think Tommy Fury beats Jake all day long, as long as he gets a few more rounds in the bank. Jake Paul has done more rounds than Tommy Fury. Once Tommy has banged out a few six rounders and got a few eight rounders under his belt, then I think it’s a no-contest.

“As he hasn’t done too many rounds himself, he probably hasn’t got that natural stamina. It’s not just for Tommy, it’s for Mayweather, for me – you need those rounds under your belt and so far Tommy’s not done that yet and that’s the only thing that gives Jake Paul half a chance. If Tommy got a few rounds under his belt and built that stamina up then I think it’s an easy fight for Tommy.”

Boxing has to move with the times and accept YouTubers fighting

Hatton believes that the boxing landscape has changed so much in the past few years, and that it’s imperative to move with the times. 

He said, “I’m old school. The one thing I wanted to do when I was coming up was to become world champion and to be the best in my weight division. But things are changing and the fighting world has moved on leaps and bounds.

“I think we’ve got to move with the times. If you don’t, it’s going to pass you by. You say ‘I want to fight this guy, I want to fight that guy, I don’t want to fight a YouTuber’ – that’s where all the money is.

“You’ve got Jake Paul who is a massive name now, everyone wants to fight him – he’s box office value. As an old school boxer, we’ll put up with the Jake Paul’s and this fight and that fight and the YouTubers, as long as we get the Tyson vs AJ fight, the Spence vs Crawford fight. If we’re still getting them, then really, who cares about the other ones?

“As boxing purists, if we’re seeing the fights we want to see and we’re bothered about, then they can do their thing and we can do ours. It’s bad for our sport. It’s got a few things happening to it that wasn’t happening years ago, like the YouTubers and like Floyd Mayweather fighting a mixed martial artist. What will save boxing is if these mega-fights like the two fights we’ve just mentioned take place. Nobody would be bothered about the YouTube crew if boxing fans were getting the fights we really want.”

Boxing fans must believe Conor Benn, that he’s not a cheat

Hatton believes that the who Conor Benn drugs saga recently puts a bad look on the sport, but that he does feel sorry for Benn and has sympathy for him.

Hatton told Fair Betting Sites, “It was disappointing for Conor, he turned around and was as shocked as anyone when the results came through and you’ve got to take him on his word with that. I’m not exactly sure where that whole situation is with Conor and whether he’s contesting it or not, but I think boxing needs to be a little bit stricter.

“The thing for fight fans is the confusion. We’re all still confused as to what’s going on. Has he actually been banned? In other sports it’s black and white. You fail a test, you get that punishment. Whereas in our sport, everyone is still scratching their heads about where we’re standing in the situation. Conor said he’s as shocked as anybody to find that in his system and I feel sorry for him. His reputation is at stake and if he genuinely hasn’t taken anything then it is a shame.

“I felt sorry for Chris Eubank Jr too who worked so hard getting all of that weight off. It was made at a catchweight so the fight could happen, he did that and then right at the last minute the fight got pulled which is heartbreaking for Chris.”

Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano best fight of all time

Hatton was quick to credit women’s boxing and the fight of the year contender between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano earlier this year:

Hatton said, “Never mind one of the best fights for ladies, but one of the best fights period! It was incredible. What a flagship fight for ladies boxing. I was very fortunate to go to the Claressa Shields vs Savannah Marshall fight in London where it was an all-ladies bill. The standard of ladies boxing now is incredible.

“They’ve come such a long way since when it started and I must admit I wasn’t a fan of ladies boxing when it first started out. I just didn’t like the ladies beating each other up with blood all over their faces, I just wasn’t a fan. But if ladies want to do boxing, just like the men and it’s a passion and dream for them, then they deserve just as much of a chance as the men to go and fulfil and go for those dreams.

“Although I wasn’t a fan early on, I think ladies deserve their chance just the same as men go and reach for the stars and go and fulfil their dreams. The way ladies boxing has taken off now from a few years ago is absolutely incredible.

“I actually train a lady boxer, Chloe Watson, who boxed on Saturday night (Saturday 26th November). She’s four unbeaten now and she boxed in the GB Team years ago. She won multinational titles and boxed at multi-nation tournaments, so I’ve got high hopes for Chloe. Ladies boxing now, it really is top drawer.”

The increase in Pay-Per-View fights is worrying but doesn’t look like slowing down anytime soon

Hatton believes that the only way we will see a fall in the price of box office events is if the numbers start to drop drastically.

He told Fair Betting Sites, “You pay your BT or your Sky subscription fee and then they charge you to watch these fights on Box Office as well. I mean, £30? It is incredible.

“When you think about the cost of living now for everybody and to keep banging the prices up at the box office, I guess it is what it is.

“I was delighted that my exhibition ended up being on Sky Sports because my previous one that got postponed was going on the internet at the box office. So unless you bought a ticket for the fight, which is tough for people these days, unless you’d  paid for it on box office then you wouldn’t have seen my fight with Marco Antonio Barrera.

“When Sky came on board and it went on Sky Sports, fight fans could see it for free. I was absolutely delighted that happened. But yes, it seems to be going up and going up and I don’t see it changing anytime soon. The promoters and TV companies aren’t daft. If they keep putting it up and the viewing figures are bad, then they’ll be going ‘hang on a minute’ and then they’ve got to look at it as a TV company.

“All it boils down to is numbers. If they keep putting the price up then the figures must be good. If they keep putting the price up and then all of a sudden they’re not hitting their desired amount of views, then they might have to do a double shuffle and start knocking it down.”