Ricky Hatton dominated a trash-talking American in the very same venue where he lost to Floyd Mayweather.
Prior to his defeat to ‘Money’, the Mancunian had compiled a phenomenal resume. In addition to overcoming Kosta Tszyu, Hatton ruthlessly finished Jose Luis Castillo.
However, while the warrior’s talent was never in doubt, after his loss to the legend, he had to prove he still had the minerals to compete at world level.
And it’s fair to say ‘The Hitman’ did that in abundance.
WOW: Ricky Hatton was sent to the canvas for the first time ever three years before biggest victory
Ricky Hatton finished Paulie Malignaggi
On November 22, 2008, Ricky Hatton travelled back to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, to take on Paulie Malignaggi.
Throughout the build-up, the Englishman had to cope with relentless trash talk from his opponent. But when they set foot inside the ring together, it was ‘The Magic Man’ who had to deal with Hatton, and not from a verbal perspective, but a physical one, with the brawler battering him from pillar to post.
In the first round, Malignaggi performed well, landing snappy jabs, but in the second, the pendulum swung, with Hatton detonating a beautiful right hand that rocked his rival to his core.
From that point onwards, the Ring Magazine light welterweight world champion controlled the action, connecting with punishing blows.
In the eleventh round, Malignaggi’s trainer had seen enough, throwing in the towel, which consequently awarded Hatton one of the biggest wins of his career.
Ricky Hatton said what he could’ve done differently to have beaten Floyd Mayweather
While the win against Malignaggi was excellent for Hatton, it didn’t quite make up for what happened against Floyd Mayweather.
In the years since that contest, the two-weight world champion has reflected on what went wrong against the now Hall of Famer.
Interestingly, Hatton opened up about what he could’ve done to have beaten Mayweather.