Ricky Hatton is a British boxing legend who fought some of the best the sport had to offer, including Floyd Mayweather.
Hatton’s most successful night was when he became world champion after beating the widely heralded Australian Kostya Tyszu by 11th round stoppage at home in Manchester to win the IBF and The Ring super lightweight titles.
He defended his status against the likes of Luis Collazo and Jose Luis Castilo before then coming unstuck against Mayweather and losing by 10th round KO in Las Vegas.
After a comeback win in Manchester, Hatton headed back to Vegas, beating Paulie Malignaggi before taking on Manny Pacquiao. That ended in disaster with the Filipino sensation producing an ice-cold KO in the second round. Hatton fought just once more, three years later in 2012 when he lost to Vyacheslav Senchenko.
Speaking to the Ring Magazine, Hatton was asked to name the best he ever faced in the squared circle and opted for ‘PacMan.’
“I would say Manny Pacquiao. Just his speed. Southpaw. Obviously, he hits very hard. Floyd Mayweather also was very good but the more and more I see Manny Pacquiao I’m shifting to him. And Kostya Tszyu, he was a deadly, deadly puncher.”
‘The Hitman’ also named Pacquiao as the hardest hitter he had ever come up against.
“Quite obviously I would have to say Manny Pacquiao. He just seems to be getting stronger as he moves up in weight.”
