Hatton enters retirement again following loss to Senchenko

SINGAPORE – Ricky “Hitman” Hatton (45-3, 32KO) lost by 9th round TKO to Vyacheslav Senchenko (32-1, 22KO) in front of his hometown crowd at Manchester Arena in the United Kingdom.

Senchenko delivered a crushing body shot that the Hitman could not recover from.

Prior to the stoppage, Hatton felt he was ahead on points and was actually doing quite well. However, the ring rust after a long three and a half year absence from active competition along with highly publicized battles against drug addiction and depression clearly showed in his performance.

“I had to find out if I could mix it at the world level and I got my answer. I can’t” said the former Light Welterweight kingpin.

“I needed one more fight to see if I had still got it, and I haven’t. I couldn’t have done any better. A
fighter knows, and I know it isn’t there anymore. I’ve got to be a man and say it’s the end of Ricky
Hatton!”

Hatton hadn’t fought since 2009 when he faced boxing icon Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and lost by
devastating 2nd round knockout, when he got hit by a Pacquiao left hook that left him utterly senseless.

He retired for the first time shortly after, but rumors of Hatton staging a comeback circulated the web
and came to fruition just a month ago.

Hatton chose Senchenko, a dangerous, once-beaten fighter and former WBA Welterweight Champion
from the Ukraine for his comeback. He didn’t choose the safe road and picked a journeyman fighter, he
wanted to challenge himself.

Unfortunately, it resulted in another heartbreaker.

Immediately following the loss to Senchenko, Hatton announced his second retirement and this time he
looks to stay away from the ring for good.

Hatton is in a better place right now, after battling his inner demons. One can only hope he’ll retire
gracefully this time around and focus on living his life in peace and happiness.

It seems, the only fight left for Hatton to win is the one outside the ring. – Rappler.com