Boxing: Ricky Hatton Still Embittered By Loss To Floyd Mayweather Jr., Rues Referee Didn't Let Him Work

More than a decade has already passed since Ricky Hatton absorbed a 10^th round KO loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr., but the retired British boxer admits he still holds a huge chip on his shoulder with how the mega bout in 2007 was decided – or more appropriately said, how it was officiated.

Hatton, 41, rued Joe Cortez, who was the third man in the ring, stalled his game plan of pressing the action inside as he attempted to deny Mayweather Jr.’s superb skill of fighting from the outside.

“I think it was working to a degree, but (referee) Joe Cortez didn’t let me work,” said Hatton, per Boxing News 24. However, the Hitman stressed that while he feels remorse about how the fight was called, he would not make it the lone excuse for his setback.

“I know people will sit there and now say, ‘Ricky, please don’t tell me now that the only reason you got beat by Floyd Mayweather was because of the referee.’ I’m not saying I would have won the fight anyway,” he said.

“What I’m saying is it made my job very, very difficult. I thought afterward that Joe Cortez lets you fight but totally forgot that Joe Cortez is from Las Vegas, where Floyd is from. Would you let me fight Kostya Tszyu with a Mancunian referee? But little things in hindsight after, you know?

“It was like, he (Cortez) took a point off me without getting me a warning first. Certain people loved the Ricky Hatton American venture. I’m not saying I would have won the fight. What I’m saying is, it was very out of character what he did. You’ve seen what Joe Cortez for years. ‘Fair but firm,’ but I don’t think he was that night,” he continued.

Hatton entered the welterweight title card having an unblemished record in 43 fights; Mayweather Jr., meanwhile, was 38-0. The faceoff was held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with the American’s WBC and The Ring belts put on the line.

Mayweather Jr. successfully defended his title, thanks to his patented hand speed and his ability to adjust on the fly.

“He (Mayweather) was just so fast. In my mind, I thought to myself, ‘Listen, I can’t stand off from this fellow with his ability and his speed,” said Hatton, who then insisted he could have gotten at least a slim chance at winning if he had not been stopped from employing his inside game.

“It’s the truth. I was never going to beat Floyd Mayweather with ability, and I was never going to beat him with speed. I was going to beat him on work rate, stay close, and wear him out. That’s what I did.”