Hatton - train wreck of a man.

Having seen yet another interview with Ricky Hatton describing his suicide attempts his drink and drug issues and depression. It strikes me that we should all be concerned with the man. He seems to be a man who feels he has failed although he had a glittering career.

I was watching this interview with Hatton and he was saying things like he does not care if he gets koed in his come back fight. Who would say such a thing? Yeah it sounds like the old Ricky Hatton we all love, he still cracks a joke and has not lost his charisma but look a little deeper and you will find a broken man.

Rickys face looked heavily marked up which suggests he is getting caught in sparring which is not a good sign. He is 34 years old now and he will have to worry about punch resistance. He has a new trainer but looking at the footage of him training it seems to me that Ricky is mainly in charge doing the same things he did with Billy Graham.

I do not think Ricky is in sound mind and he is walking back into possible depression which in turn can spiral out towards other destructive tendencies. This is a game for young, hungry men who have passion and belief, not for over the hill, shot fighters with depression who want to prove a point to themselves and others.

It's proving the naysayers wrong that will surely give Hatton the most satisfaction.


Not directed at you onetwoforever, but the man wants to apply his craft, has obviously been missing it, can't people just let him carry on in peace, and stop with the faux concern. He wouldn't be doing this unless the desire was there. He's still a young man. It's not like in the old days where fighters had sixty fights by the time they're twenty eight. He'd know in his bones if it wasn't there. Physically, he might be stronger now than ever. That is if he's in the process of starting to look after his body. Let's see.

Herman Jaggery wrote:It's proving the naysayers wrong that will surely give Hatton the most satisfaction.


Not directed at you onetwoforever, but the man wants to apply his craft, has obviously been missing it, can't people just let him carry on in peace, and stop with the faux concern. He wouldn't be doing this unless the desire was there. He's still a young man. It's not like in the old days where fighters had sixty fights by the time they're twenty eight. He'd know in his bones if it wasn't there. Physically, he might be stronger now than ever. That is if he's in the process of starting to look after his body. Let's see.

Amen

His physicality is not the problem its his mental state that is of serious concern.

In the prediction league, I've gone for a early ko for Hatton. I think / hope he will surprise us all. At the same time, I understand your concerns, onetwo. If a person believes they are defined by one thing, then they continue doing that long past when they should have stopped.

Depression can take years to lift though. Once the darkest days are over, that's a good sign. Then it's a journey, albeit a slow one, into the light. So you should expect to see gradual improvement, until one day it's gone, like a cloud of smoke. Can't expect him to be right just yet, so soon after a heavy depression.


It's understanding what might be causing it, and addressing that behaviour. For a start, cocaine can trigger depression. As it can deplete dopamine, obviously.


Of course, a couple of decent wins might lift the spirits.

I think the training and getting back to fighting shape will help beat the depression but his depression stemmed from his failure in the ring.

Will loss in the ring trigger another episode?

Maybe Hatton should have sorted out his life properly and returned to boxing in a more contented state.

Also as I have said before Ricky looked badly marked up obviously from sparring which does not look good. It means he is getting caught easy but it could mean something worse in the ring.

Maybe the marking was just due to a lack of conditioning. I don't know.

I'm bored if his story to be honest. Depression isn't even a real illness anyway. Basically he liked a drink and Drug taking binge and his behind depression.

Just fight and get on with it.

Have you ever thought about becoming a Samaritan, LJ?

Probably doesnt believe they exist

Proper depression is a mental illness that is reoccurring and can come on at any time. Hatton doesn't/didn't have clinical depression, he was low in mood and wallowing in self pity because of a downturn in his fortunes. Without wishing to sound harsh, sh*t happens, we all have our problems. I'm not concerned about him in his comeback - I did notice he looked quite bruised up and presume he's been clobbered a bit in sparring, he also looks quite old (older than 34) and haggard now he's lost weight, but he's a grown man who can make his own decisions. Whether he gets some pride back or gets KTFO it's all down to him and like any man he has to live and die by the decisions he makes - hiding behind booze & drugs if it all goes wrong, especially when he has children, would show what a weak man he is. I hope it doesn't come to that.

The trouble with Ricky is that he always wanted to be "one of the boys", hence his love for a drink, hanging out with the lads at the football and partying between bouts.

I think what he has found is that once the success is over, there were an awful lot of hangers on who drifted away and left him to ponder his life. Couple that with heavy drinking and drug use and it is no surprise that he hit a dark patch.

He tried to be two things; a fighter and a "lad". Unfortunately, given the nature of the sport, you should only really be one or the other. I wish Ricky every success, I genuinely do, but age is not on his side and I believe his comeback will be relatively short.

He's probably earmarked a comeback plan of: tuneup vs Senchenko, title rematch vs Paulie, big money UK showdown vs Khan, retire a champion with an increased bank balance, healed ego and raised profile for the stable of Hatton Promitions. Whether it goes as plan is questionable, I think both Paulie & Khan have the speed & skill to defeat him.

Depression is a mental illness....sugar boy is spot on.....

A terrible thing to have.....when I said "I do" I had a blanket of it come over me and it's still here today...

I'd have more time for this "comeback" If it wasn't hot on the heels of his broken promotional contract with SKY!!!!!!!!!

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Depression is a mental illness....sugar boy is spot on.....

A terrible thing to have.....when I said "I do" I had a blanket of it come over me and it's still here today...

I'm not saying your wife is fat Truss, but I hear you've got an energy saving lightbulb in the fridge.

Take her out and see for yourself!!

A night where there is something I want to watch on TV preferably!!

Watched that Hatton documentary on 5 last night, to quote Hatton:

"I became a joke, supposed champion boxer and man of the people, 15 stone, in the pub, fat, drunk, crying - I don't want my family, my friends and my community to think of me like that, I want to make them proud again".

When he puts it like that you can understand where he's coming from, good luck to him.

bhb001 wrote:In the prediction league, I've gone for a early ko for Hatton. I think / hope he will surprise us all. At the same time, I understand your concerns, onetwo. If a person believes they are defined by one thing, then they continue doing that long past when they should have stopped.

i have to, but its more down to the fact he fighting a fighter older than him, who has never fought out of his home country (the m.e.n is going to be a very volatile place) and he coming of a lost to paulie. im thinking a body shot may well stop it, expect hatton to have lost a bit of sharpness but the body is much easier to hit than the head

Anyone else see him on Channel 5 the other day. He sounds a bit punch drunk. Definitely should not be fighting again IMO.