Ricky Hatton blames the referee for not giving him a chance to box his way against an undefeated world champion in 2007.
“Hitman” embarked on an American adventure from 2005, picking up wins over Juan Urango and Luis Collazo to pick up the WBA Light Welterweight and Welterweight belts.
However, his undefeated 43-0 streak was ended when Ricky Hatton was knocked out by Floyd Mayweather in December 2007, in the tenth round of their massive encounter.
This loss would be the beginning of the end for Hatton’s career, although he admits some blame must be laid on the referee for his performance that night.
Ricky Hatton blames the referee for affecting his performance against Floyd Mayweather
The referee was a big part of why Hatton lost to Mayweather in 2007, the former world champion has claimed.
While reflecting on his career with Sky Sports Boxing in 2020, Hatton laid some blame on the referee for how his bout with Mayweather turned out.
He explained how the referee got involved too much and didn’t let him fight to his game plan, which he admitted was the only way he would have been able to beat the undefeated champion in Las Vegas that night.
Hatton explained: “I was never going to beat Floyd Mayweather on ability, and I was never going to beat him with speed. I was gonna beat him on workrate – stay close, wear him out, and that’s what I did.
“It was working to a degree, but Joe Cortez [the referee] didn’t let me work.
“I know people sit there and say, ‘Ricky, don’t tell me the only reason you got beat by Floyd Mayweather was because the referee’. That’s not what I’m saying.
“I’m not saying I would have won the fight anyway. I’m saying that it made my job very difficult.”
Ricky Hatton boxed three more times before retiring for the first time
The loss to Mayweather was really the beginning of the end for Hatton, despite picking up wins following that brutal knockout.
He beat Juan Lazcano and Paulie Malignaggi to retain his Light-Welterweight belts in the year following the Mayweather bout, and the Stockport-born fighter looked like he was getting back to his best.
However, that all came crashing down when he lasted just two rounds against Manny Pacquiao in a huge world title fight.
Pacquiao danced around Hatton for the first round, testing his endurance while peppering him with some impressive-looking combinations, which he took poorly.
Hatton tried taking the fight to the Filipino, but he could do nothing to stop him knocking the Hitman down twice in the first round.
The fight ended in the second round, when a left hand from Pacquiao knocked out Hatton where he stood, and he was out cold before his head hit the mat.
The Englishman retired from boxing soon after, with a 2012 return his only fight before his planned comeback in December 2025.