Ricky Hatton will make a surprising comeback to the boxing world in December as he competes in a professional bout at the age of 46.
The former Manny Pacquiao opponent Hatton will follow in the footsteps of ‘Pac-Mac’, who is taking on Mario Barrios for the welterweight world title in July.
Hatton will take on Eisa Al Dah in his comeback fight. The fighter from Dubai has a professional record of 8-3, and is the same age as the Englishman he will fight in December.
It will be Hatton’s first professional fight since 2012, when Hatton bowed out of boxing in disappointing style.
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Ricky Hatton suffered a body shot KO loss in his last professional fight
Following his loss to Pacquiao in May 2009, Hatton would not return to the ring for three-and-a-half years. Looking for one more fight, Hatton came back in 2012.
In November 2012, Hatton competed in his hometown of Manchester in a welterweight bout. Despite the layoff, ‘The Hitman’ would take on a tough opponent in Vyacheslav Senchenko.
The Ukrainian had a professional record of 32-1, with his only loss coming in his last outing. Seven months prior to meeting Hatton, Senchenko was stopped by Paul Malignaggi.
The loss also spelled the end of Senchenko’s world title reign, during which he made three defenses of his WBA World Welterweight title. Despite being the more active fighter in recent years, it looked as if Senchenko could suffer a second consecutive defeat.
After eight completed rounds, Hatton was ahead on the scorecards, by one point on two judges’ cards, and four on the third judging official’s.
However, it would not be the dream comeback for Hatton. In the ninth round, the Englishman would be caught by a winding body shot. The sharp left to the midsection of Hatton left him on the canvas, unable to beat the count.
It was the first time Hatton had ever lost a professional outing when competing in his home country, as he announced his retirement in the post-fight press conference.
Ricky Hatton has only suffered defeats to world champions
With a professional record of 45-3, Hatton’s three defeats have only come from the very best.
His loss to Senchenko in 2012 was the third time he was bested by a world champion. As Pacquiao had defeated Hatton in his penultimate fight, it was consecutive losses against future and former welterweight champions.
Hatton was dealt his first loss in a welterweight world title opportunity against Floyd Mayweather in 2007. A TKO loss in the 10th round would see ‘Money’ defend his belt, as Hatton’s then 43-0 record was blemished.
However, ‘The Hitman’ has a number of wins over world champions himself. Hatton has defeated the likes of Paul Malignaggi and Kostya Tszyu.