Cut Hatton Some Slack

Well, he's been absolutely embarrassed in his two biggest fights--first by getting slowly annihilated by Floyd Mayweather, then by getting pummeled by Manny Pacquiao in the first round--and that's prompted heavy criticism from many boxing fans that see Hatton as a hype machine with very little talent. Most are calling for him to retire.

No so fast, says Shoefly, in a superb essay for the Sporting News:

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...yeah, I don’t like him any more than you do, but I like boxing and I like big fights. Ricky Hatton whipped some good fighters and got whipped by some great ones. If he wants to keep fighting I’ll keep watching, and I expect he’ll win a few. A fighter doesn’t need to have a chance to be the best to keep on fighting, nor does he have to be stylish to be great, he just has to keep punching.

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