Ricky Hatton has hit out at Floyd Mayweather and recounted several stories ahead of their bout back in 2007 which left a bad taste in his mouth.
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Hatton was stopped in the 10th round of their encounter in Las Vegas, and that played a role in the Brit opting to back Mayweather ahead of his mega fight with Manny Pacquiao earlier this month.
Although the Filipino revealed that he was struggling with a shoulder injury shortly after the bout, his rival ultimately controlled the fight to seal a unanimous points decision win in what was billed the richest fight in boxing history.
However, although Hatton respects the 48-0 star’s boxing skills, he clearly isn’t much of a fan of his personality and ego, and meeting him in the flesh didn’t do much to change his opinion of him.
“When our fight was scheduled, Floyd was going: ”I’m going to beat you like a bitch, butt-f*** you.” It was nonsense,” Hatton said, as reported by the Mirror.
“Floyd has his way and I have mine, but there’s a line between selling tickets and disrespecting the sport. What’s the point of being the world’s best fighter if everyone thinks you’re a d***head?”
Mayweather is considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, but his personality has often ensured that the general public and fight fans have never taken a shine to him.
Ultimately, the 38-year-old revels in his villain role after initially having the ‘Pretty Boy’ moniker, but he has excelled since adopting the ‘Money’ slogan and has willingly accepted whatever reaction he receives.
Meanwhile, Hatton also shared a separate story about the build-up to his fight with the American, where he wore a Manchester United shirt just to rile him up and ordered his pilot on a private jet to overtake Hatton’s in order to leave first as they promoted the fight across the USA.
Hatton recalled his pilot calling him up the front of the plane to listen in to Mayweather barking orders at his own pilot to overtake and insisted that he would pay whatever he wanted in order to make it happen.
It remains to be seen where Mayweather goes after May 2 as he initially insisted that his last fight would be September before hinting at a rematch with Pacquiao next year. Later, he labelled his rival a “coward” and “sore loser” after his shoulder injury complaints, and renegaded on his offer despite it still being the fight that arguably makes the most boxing and business sense.
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