Mid-level (being kind) welterweight Matthew Hatton, the brother of the more famous Ricky Hatton, told The Daily Star that the camp for Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been in touch about the fight that everyone besides the Hattons is praying won't happen.
"Mayweather’s camp have been in touch about three times now.With the Pacquiao fight being called off now, it’s good news for me. My trainer was told by them I’m top of their list of opponents."
He added: "To pit myself against one of the best fighters of all time, in my opinion, would be an amazing opportunity. It would be a great experience. I’m a very durable fighter and have never been put down, so I think I would make it a competitive fight."
"He’s a level above me in terms of class but, in sport, upsets happen. And it only takes one punch in boxing."
There are some false statements made here by Matthew Hatton:
- It would not be a competitive fight. Period. Matthew just struggled badly with Lovemore N'dou, a fringe titlist nowhere near Mayweather's level who hadn't sparred for weeks after getting injured in camp. That was supposed to be Matthew's breakout fight if any fight was going to be, and he essentially got a golden opportunity with that. He didn't blow it; he just isn't good enough.
- "He's a level above me in terms of class" is terribly inaccurate. Mayweather is at least 10 levels above Matthew Hatton in terms of class. Mayweather was three or four levels above Ricky Hatton in terms of class, and Hatton was the undisputed, undefeated world junior welterweight champion at the time. Matthew has never so much as won a recognized alphabet title.
The very idea of this matchup is ludicrous. "Hey, it only takes one punch," he says, as if he has much shot at even landing that miracle punch. His brother, the far superior fighter, landed 63 punches by CompuBox's count in their December 2007 clash, and he lasted 10 rounds. Ricky is faster, stronger, and better than Matthew, and it's not a particularly close race.
Look, I'm not trying to bust on Matthew Hatton, really. He seems like a truly nice, hard-working guy who is probably maximizing his skill at this point. From a natural talent standpoint, he's just not a world class fighter, and Mayweather is world class and then some. Mayweather is going to the Hall of Fame.
To even have anyone give this a first thought is positively ludicrous. Mayweather has been criticized for picking off easy opponents before, but Matthew Hatton would be the worst fighter he's fought since he stopped beating on journeymen about 12 years ago. Mayweather against Matthew Hatton would be inexcusable. He could get better fights out of countless guys. I'd pick Juan Manuel Marquez to beat Matthew at welterweight. I'd pick the drained Oscar de la Hoya to beat Matthew at welterweight.
This fight has absolutely no business happening and there is no way any Mayweather fan, apologist, team member, representative or family member could spin this into being anything more than the easiest possible fight they could get someone to sanction. How on earth would you begin to rationalize Mayweather against Matthew Hatton as anything even remotely competitive on paper?
If this is where Floyd goes, how could you respect that?