Not long after a stop at the Imperial War Museum in London, Ricky Hatton reminded a conference-call audience that he rules the junior welterweights the way Britain once ruled the world. He talked about 140 pounds as though it belonged to him.
So far, it has.
The sun has never set on Hatton at that weight, and he has vowed his reign will continue May 2 against Manny Pacquiao, the pound-for-pound king who named his daughter Queen Elizabeth. Somebody will get his crown handed to him at Las Vegas' MGM Grand in this year's most anticipated fight.
It's too early to make a pick. Come to think of it, Wednesday was probably too early for a conference call.
Still, it is hard to resist the forthright, entertaining Hatton, who Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer called the world's most popular boxer. I'm not sure what Schaefer's boss, Oscar De La Hoya, thinks about that. But maybe it is a further indication that, yeah, De La Hoya is about to retire.
If not for a dramatic Pacquiao upset that created a new order at the top of the boxing world in December, the May match would probably be De La Hoya-Hatton. Pacquiao's welterweight victory over De La Hoya makes him the favorite, although there are questions about whether De La Hoya was just completely shot or undone by dehydration from a precipitous loss of pounds.
Not surprisingly, Hatton and trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr., De La Hoya's ex-corner man, hit the weight question as often as a speed bag in the blueprint for a theme that figures to continue until opening bell.
"I'll be the biggest man Manny will have faced," said Hatton, who said he is usually about 154 pounds at fight time. "Manny's victory over De La Hoya was a fantastic achievement. Only Oscar can answer questions about what happened with his weight.
"I don't want to be too disrespectful, but it wasn't hard to outbox Oscar that night, not hard to beat him. With my new training camp, and with Floyd Mayweather, I like to think I'd have done the same."
A lot of people would have done the same, especially lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, whose victory Saturday over Juan Diaz in Houston strengthened his argument for a second rematch with Pacquiao.
Hatton's own weight, a roller-coaster brought on by gallons of pints at last call between fights, is another question. His self-deprecating jokes, including the Fatton nickname and costume, are funny. But the up-and-down lifestyle is no joke. At some point, he'll pay for it.
I thought that price would be paid against Paulie Malignaggi, but it wasn't. In scoring an 11th-round stoppage of the light-hitting Malignaggi in November, Hatton displayed some newfound tactical and defensive skill. It was somewhat surprising. But Hatton never encountered real danger. Against Pacquiao, harm's way is ever-present. With one big shot, Pacquiao can strip away the mental memory from recent work in the gym and reduce Hatton to his bulldog-like nature -- instincts that would lead him into trouble.
Mayweather Sr. likes Hatton's chances at knocking out Pacquiao, perhaps because he believes the Filipino has been deluded by his stoppage of De La Hoya.
Source: cbssports.com
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