Ricky Hatton on Fury/Usyk, Joshua Fights

Chris Altman Sports Betting Expert

10 minute read

We sat down with legendary boxer and trainer Ricky Hatton to get his thoughts on Fury vs. Usyk, the proposed Anthony Joshua fight, Oasis, and more:

What did you make of Tyson Fury’s defeat to Oleksandr Usyk?

I thought Oleksandr Usyk just did enough to win again. 

Like the first fight, it was very similar so I can see why some people thought Tyson might have nicked it whereas others thought Usyk had nicked it, but I think the higher percentage think the result was the right decision. 

Everyone has a different view of boxing and has a different style of fighting they prefer. 

The only way I can look at it is if I am judging a fight and there is nothing in it then I’m going to give it to the person who tried a bit harder, and Usyk was putting more effort in and trying to win it.

I know Tyson has a style which can be defensive and likes to switch and stuff like that, but Usyk went out to win the fight and Tyson went out to nick it. 

I’m giving Tyson a bit of a misjustice there because you watch Usyk and as far as styles go, it’s not a massively exciting style but just what he does is absolutely class from a boxing perspective. 

To give away so much height, reach, and weight against someone as good as Tyson, who is a class act, and for Usyk to slip and slide and his distance is just a joy to watch. 

Fighters like Usyk don’t come along too often.

Tyson is probably coming to an end now and has seen better days. 

A few years ago, I would’ve put my money on Tyson to win, but he has a few miles on the clock. 

All of those fights years ago and that massive 10-stone weight loss before the Deontay Wilder trilogy have started to show for Tyson now. 

Tyson Fury v Anthony Joshua – is that next before retiring?

Make the Anthony Joshua fight. 

In the heavyweight division, Daniel Dubois deserves a rematch against Oleksandr Usyk as he had hard lines last time, with controversy over the ending. 

Was it a low blow? Usyk took a full five minutes which helped him but the performance he did against Anthony Joshua, he deserves a rematch and has a right to challenge Usyk for the title. 

Let the two lads who won fight each other and the two fighters who lost fight each other. 

We’ve been waiting to see Tyson Fury fight Anthony Joshua for 10 years now which is incredible. 

Tyson has had a great career; AJ has had a fantastic career, but both are showing signs of miles on the clock but it’s a fight we have always wanted to see. 

You would still pay all day long to watch the fight, let them fight each other and then I would like to see them both retire then as they have nothing more to prove.

If they have that last send-off fight as we’ve all been waiting to see, they can then hang the gloves up and have made us proud. 

Have you spoken to Tyson since the defeat?

No, I haven’t spoken to him since the defeat.

I have called him beforehand and messaged him to say good luck and then commiserations after. 

I think he would’ve been disappointed because I know how much his unbeaten record meant to him and the fact that he has now lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk will have hurt him. 

I’ve left him to it, but Tyson knows I’m behind him and have always been Team Tyson and very proud of him. 

When you see what Tyson has done when he was going through those bad times with his weight, addiction, and drugs and I’ve been there myself and know how hard it is to come through, we didn’t think Tyson would fight again.

Look at what he has done, never mind being beaten by Usyk, what he has done is absolutely astonishing. 

I’m very proud of him, but he needs to fight AJ, you don’t want to be sitting on your sofa in 20 years saying ‘what would’ve happened if I had boxed him?’ 

Get in there and get it done, lads, and then put your feet up and enjoy what you have worked so hard for.

Where should the fight take place?

It should be in Britain. 

If you have a fight like that with two heavyweights at the top of the division from Great Britain, then I think it does need to be in the UK. 

There’s a lot of fights in Saudi and look at the job Turki Alalshikh has done for boxing with the big fights he has made but look at the atmosphere at Wembley for Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua. 

Not just the fight, the build-up, and the whole occasion, no disrespect to Saudi but this is where fights with two former heavyweight world champions from the UK should happen and there’s only one place and it’s in Britain.

Is Tyson favourite for the fight?

It’s a tough one, I think it’s 50/50, I wouldn’t say either would be the favourite. 

AJ, the way he was in the corner even before he was knocked out, was a little bit casual, and I think he took Daniel Dubois lightly. 

He was that convinced before the fight, going into the fight, and even during the fight. 

He’s very laid back so maybe I am giving him a bit of a disservice, but he did look like he thought he was the better man and just needed to turn up to beat Daniel. 

Whereas with Daniel’s mentality, when he was walking into the ring, I thought this fella is going to take some stopping. 

You could tell by the way he was talking to himself and walking into the ring with the look in his eyes. 

In the ring walk and during the fight as well as in the fight, he was just a little casual. 

I know he is a laid-back type but I think he took his eye off the ball with Daniel and you can’t do something like that with Daniel. 

Daniel Dubois is one hell of a fighter and the first fight against Oleksandr Usyk was a good fight with a bit of controversy and Daniel looked like he had hurt Usyk. 

But the fact that this AJ win will give him the confidence now going into that fight means it wouldn’t be a foregone conclusion if they rematch. 

The fact Usyk has beaten Tyson and AJ, he deserves to be the number one in the division but if I had to bet my house, I wouldn’t say it’s a foregone conclusion, especially with Daniel’s confidence.

What was it like walking to fight Paulie Malignaggi with Oasis members Liam and Noel Gallagher holding the belts?

It was the one extra box I wanted to tick. 

Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a boxing world champion, support Manchester City and listen to Oasis. 

But I became a four-time world champion in two weight classes, ended up boxing at the Etihad Stadium in front of 55,000 people, and became mates with Noel and Liam Gallagher over the years. 

Eventually, they ended up carrying my belts for the Paulie Malignaggi fight for the titles and I feel very proud. 

I’ve had bigger wins, no disrespect to Paulie but the performance and the occasion with Noel and Liam carrying the belt was one of the highlights in my career.

After that, Noel and Liam were performing in Mexico City, so I flew straight from Las Vegas to Mexico City with my pals to watch their gig. 

They had a table on the stage in Mexico, and they had 50,000 fans there, with a load of beers in ice boxes, Guinness, and everything else on the table in the stadium, it really was something else.

I didn’t think they were going to get back together, Noel has said himself, when the fallouts happen then it’s over. 

Thankfully, he’s swallowed his pride, and they’ve got back together, and I’m made up.

I’m excited to see them perform all of the old songs and if they can get together and make new songs, how good is that? 

All of the old stuff is going to be great to hear again and the thought of the new songs they could come up with is exciting.

I’m made up for them as brothers, never mind as a music fan, and the family because the fallout must’ve been hard for the family. 

I know that as I fell out with certain members of my family and know how tough it is. I’m happy for their mum and those two as brothers.

Did you party with them in Mexico after the gig?

Absolutely, it was brilliant. 

I have been out with them for beers a few times and we went back to the Marriott Hotel (because they said Mexico City is the capital of kidnapping) , so they told us not to go out of the hotel.

So, we stayed in the hotel, sat at the bar and had a sing, dance, a chat and a good drink. 

They were great memories and will stay with me forever.

Could Wladimir Klitschko make a comeback?

George Foreman did it and made a comeback to win the world title at 45 years old.

The one thing about the Klitschko brothers is that they were both pure athletes and pure professionals. 

Ricky Hatton wasn’t, but they lived the life and looked after their bodies, you only have to look at them. 

I haven’t seen either for a while, but I bet they both look solid as a rock, if anybody can get away with it… he has the height, the reach, and has looked after his body. 

But I’m not sure I would like to see Wladimir in the ring with a young, hungry fighter in the form of his life like Daniel Dubois.

Whether it’s Wladimir, Anthony Joshua, or Tyson Fury, these are people I admire and with me being a boxing trainer and former world champion, I am a boxing fan and always have been since being young, but I’ve had a few tough times when I’ve seen people I like get beat and knocked out. 

He’ll go through all the tests to see if he is fit enough and all of the scans-- and I have no doubt he’ll be in great shape, but I wonder when you see the Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight and Evander Holyfield fighting, is this good for boxing? 

Do we need someone in boxing or an organisation to take it out of the boxer’s hands and say ‘you’re too past it Mike’ or ‘you’ve had your day Wladimir, we’re thinking of you and your health’. 

We are fighters so what are we going to say, no? 

What’s your thoughts on Man City this season, can they bounce back this year?

I find it hard to see but as a Man City fan we have to keep the faith, though. 

A few seasons ago, Arsenal at a similar time were 12 points in front of us and we crawled it back to win the title. 

We’re capable of doing it and when you think that City have won the last two games, you hope they have turned a corner, and their confidence will come back. 

Whether it’s boxing or football, everything is all about confidence and when you go through a bad spell, it can be about confidence.  

You look at Man United’s performance against Liverpool, they were the better team and I was shocked because Liverpool are flying at the minute. 

All it needs is for Liverpool to go on a bad run like they did against United recently and for us to put a few wins together. 

Everyone in that league can beat each other now and for United to be in the form they are in and Liverpool in the form they were in, you didn’t think that performance was possible by United, but it was. 

That’s how City fans need to look at it, but it’s highly unlikely and we’re struggling in the league and Champions League. 

It’s not impossible but something major needs to happen immediately. Most City fans will keep the faith like me but it’s not likely.

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Chris Altman

Chris Altman is a sports betting writer and content expert with almost a decade of experience. He's covered everything, but his current focus is on reviewing sportsbooks and online casinos and keeping tabs on sports betting legislation. Chris has been with VegasInsider since 2019 and has freelanced in the sports betting content industry for years. More from Chris Altman