Ricky Hatton was knocked out by a body shot from Viacheslav Senchenko in the ninth-round of his return fight Saturday night in the United Kingdom.
This Manchester Arena fight was scheduled for 10 rounds but was ended prematurely after Senchenko countered a Hatton jab with a shot to the ribs that put Hatton on the mat for good.
The 34-year-old Hatton’s conditioning was the biggest question mark coming into the fight. He was absent from the ring for 42 months and lost 70 pounds in preparation for this fight.
The Ukrainian victor wasn’t a walk-in-the-park opponent Hatton scheduled to get his legs back underneath him. Senchenko was a former welterweight titlist with just one loss in his career coming into the fight.
He won 32 consecutive fights, 23 by knockout, while primarily fighting out of Ukraine.
Hatton last fought Manny Pacquiao on May 2, 2009 in Las Vegas in a light welterweight fight. The bout was never really close and resulted in a KO victory for the Filipino superstar.
Despite the dramatic comeback attempt, it may have been better for the English brawler to remain in retirement after seeing the fruit of his labor against Senchenko on Saturday night.
He certainly already understands his best days are already behind him.
Hatton promised he wouldn’t return to the squared circle, as a fighter, if he lost to Senchenko, according to Pat Sheehan of The Sun.
“I’ll quit if I lose. I’ve suffered depression and it is something I will have until the day I die,” Hatton said.
He didn’t leave out the possibility of sticking around in the sport in a different capacity, though. Despite the loss of Hatton in the ring, he won’t be going anywhere away from the sport anytime soon.
But if the worse happens, so be it. I know I can get up on Sunday morning and look at myself in the mirror and say ‘It didn’t come off, you haven’t got it anymore, so go and be the best promoter and trainer you can be.’
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