“There’s only one, Ricky Hatton!” That’s the greeting that British boxing champion Ricky Hatton receives from his fans wherever he goes and wherever he fights. Hatton is followed to his bouts not just by a small handful of diehard fans, but by thousands of dedicated supporters who are willing to travel around the world to see their hero fight.

Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton

Hatton is a man of the people, and accordingly, the people love him. He’s a blue collar guy who spends his downtime in between fights by drinking beer, shooting darts and watching soccer. This has also earned him the nickname Ricky Fatton, as during his off time he routinely balloons up in weight, gaining 40 pounds or more.

In the ring Hatton displays the same blue collar sensibility. There’s not much flashy to his game. He jumps inside an opponent’s punches and starts launching his own wide power shots. He digs powerful shots to an opponent’s body to break them down over the course of a fight. He clinches to get the advantage inside and stymie his opponent’s offense while continuing to tire him out. And when all is said and done, Hatton gets his hand raised.

Only once did that fail to happen, against former pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mayweather, a supremely talented boxer and technician, was able to evade Hatton’s punches and set him up for his own counters. Many men have tried the tactic, but nobody else has been able to pull it off.

Hatton burst onto the scene by using his signature, domineering style to brutalize Kostya Tszyu, one of the best fighters on the planet at the time. Hatton then went on a spree, fighting many fighters who held titles or would go on to hold titles. The Hitman’s hitlist included Carlos Maussa, Luis Collazo, Juan Urango and Jose Luis Castillo.

Then came the Mayweather setback. It was a contest fought at welterweight, as opposed to Hatton’s preferred weight of 140 pounds. Back to his natural weight, Hatton is also back to his winning ways. He won a hard fought decision against Juan Lazcano and then earned a TKO win over Paulie Malignaggi.

Now fighting at his comfort zone, and ironically working with a new trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr., Hatton is getting ready to face current pound for pound champion Manny Pacquiao. The fight could not be more different than his last attempt at felling the pound for pound top dog. Pacquiao is all aggression, hard punches and energy, while Mayweather is the picture of calm in the ring, dissecting his opponents and making them miss.

Surely Hatton has never faced a fighter in his career like Manny Pacquiao. A win against him would go a long way towards reestablishing his lost status in the boxing community as a one trick pony. A loss could permanently leave Hatton solely in the realm of fan favorite, as opposed to boxing great.

Written by: Jake Emen