Tyson Fury and Usyk’s fight collapsing has ‘scared the life’ out of Ricky Hatton
Ricky Hatton has told boxing heavyweights to get over themselves and fight for the sake of boxing in this country.
Millions of boxing fans were once again left frustrated when talks for Tyson Fury’s undisputed heavyweight championship clash against Oleksandr Usyk collapsed. The pair were set for a Wembley showdown at the end of April, but negotiations proved to be too arduous.
It is the second time a huge fight fell through at the latter end of negotiations, after Fury’s purported clash with Anthony Joshua also failed to take place last year. And Hatton admits the constant failure to get the big fights sorted is beginning to make him fear for the future.
Read More: Anthony Joshua's opponent says 'grind don't stop until he drops' as pair square up
“It scares the life out of me as a boxing fan,” Hatton said, while speaking on behalf of Centrepoint. “Big fights have always taken a long time to get over the line and in my day it took about six months to finally agree my world title fight with Floyd Mayweather.
“But that seems like a sprint compared to negotiations now. We must have been talking about Tyson taking on Anthony Joshua for three or four years now but it never seems to happen.
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“That’s a huge shame.” The collapse of Fury vs Usyk has prompted Joshua to try and breathe new life into a potential bout with the Gypsy King. He faces Jermaine Franklin at the 02 Arena on Sunday, in what will be his first bout since losing to Usyk for a second time last August.
In spite of Joshua’s recent poor record of losing three of his last five fights, Hatton still thinks Joshua has an x-factor. “It would be nice to see AJ come back with a bang this weekend,” Hatton added. “I’ve met him several times and he’s a great guy who has done this country proud. Let’s hope he can put in a great performance and put himself back in the shop window for a fight against Fury.”
Hatton was speaking as he was named an ambassador for the homeless charity CentrePoint. He visited the organisation’s Manchester base and met some of the 18-25-year-olds they have helped to avoid a life on the streets.
Volunteers provide emergency accommodation as well as offering support to help them to access training and work. He said: “It was particularly hard to hear about the scale of the youth homelessness problem but heartening to know that Centrepoint is there for them and others.”
You can support Centrepoint by donating at
Double your donation: Emergency Helpline Appeal | Centrepoint
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