The Ring

Front cover of the first issue of The Ring
Publisher	Sports and Entertainment Publications, LLC
First issue	1922
Country	USA
Language	English
Website	www.ringtv.com
ISSN	0035-5410

The Ring (often called The Ring Magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication. The magazine is currently owned by Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Enterprises.

History[link]

The Ring, first edited by hall-of-famer Nat Fleischer, has perpetrated boxing scandals, helped make unknown fighters famous worldwide, and covered boxing's biggest events of all time. Dan Daniel was a co-founder and prolific contributor to The Ring through most of its history. It refers to itself (and is referred to by others) as "The Bible of Boxing." During the Fleischer years, the contents page or indicia of every issue carried the claim: "The Ring is a magazine which a man may take home with him. He may leave it on his library table safe in the knowledge that it does not contain one line of matter either in the text or the advertisements which would be offensive. The publisher of The Ring guards this reputation of his magazine jealously. It is entertaining and it is clean."^[1]

In 1977, three international versions of the magazine came out. One, the Spanish version, was named Ring En Español and was published from Venezuela and distributed around all Spanish-speaking countries and the United States until 1985. There was also a Japanese-language version published in Tokyo and a French version published in Paris.

The magazine was taken over by flamboyant publisher Bert Randolph Sugar in 1979, who hired Randy Gordon—who would go on later that decade to become New York's boxing commissioner—as his editor-in-chief. By 1985, both Sugar and Gordon had moved on, then watched from the sidelines as The Ring nearly went bankrupt in 1989, causing the magazine to cease publication for most of the year. It rebounded under new management in 1990.

Some of the boxers featured on the magazine covers have included Andrew Golota, Salvador Sánchez, Jack Dempsey, Max Schmeling, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Jake LaMotta, Rocky Marciano, Willie Pep, Muhammad Ali, Alexis Argüello, Wilfred Benítez, Wilfredo Gómez, Roberto Durán, Larry Holmes, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Bud Taylor, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Thomas Hearns, Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins, Julio César Chávez, Félix Trinidad, Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya, Mauro Mina, and Ricardo Mayorga. In 1977, boxer Cathy "Cat" Davis became the first and only female ever to be on a cover of The Ring. The Ring has used cover artwork created by famed artists such as LeRoy Neiman and Richard T. Slone

The Ring was formerly published by London Publications and Kappa Publishing Group, which also published sister magazines KO Magazine and World Boxing, which were former competitors of The Ring but ceased operations while under Kappa's ownership.

Sports and Entertainment Publications, LLC currently owns The Ring, which it acquired from Kappa Publishing Group in 2006. Sports and Entertainment Publications, LLC is part of a family of companies owned by a group of private investors led by Oscar de la Hoya. Also acquired were KO, World Boxing, Pro Wrestling Illustrated and Inside Wrestling/The Wrestler. The magazine's rankings are recognized as "official" by some in the U.S. media, particularly ESPN. While some may see a conflict of interest in a boxing promoter being paymaster of what is essentially a magazine/rankings organization that awards world titles and belts, De La Hoya says that is not the case. "These magazines will be held in an editorial trust where they will be operating totally independent of any influence from me or others from the Golden Boy Companies as it relates to editorial direction or content". Also there is a 35-member ratings advisory panel, which include many of the media that cover boxing, who would prevent Golden Boy Promotions from using the magazine for self gain. Nigel Collins remains as Editor in Chief.[1]

[edit] The Ring world champions

The Ring has its own version of the lineal championship in a given weight class where The Ring champion holds a linear reign to the throne, the man who beat the man. The Ring began awarding championship belts in 1922. The first Ring world title belt was awarded to heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey and the second was awarded to flyweight champion Pancho Villa. The Ring stopped giving belts to world champions in the 1990s, but began again in 2002.

In 2002, The Ring attempted to clear up the confusion regarding world champions by creating a championship policy. It echoed many critics' arguments that the sanctioning bodies in charge of boxing championships had undermined the sport by pitting undeserving contenders against undeserving "champions", and forcing the boxing public to see mismatches for so-called "world championships". The Ring attempts to be more authoritative and open than the sanctioning bodies' rankings, with a page devoted to full explanations for ranking changes. A fighter pays no sanctioning fees to defend or fight for the title at stake, contrary to practices of the sanctioning bodies. Furthermore, a fighter cannot be stripped of the title unless he loses, decides to move to another weight division, or retires.

Old Policy[link]

Under the old Ring policy, there were only two ways that a boxer can win The Ring's title: defeat the reigning champion; or win a box-off between the magazine's number-one and number-two rated contenders (or, sometimes, number-one and number-three rated). A vacant Ring championship is filled when the number-one contender in a weight-division battles the number-two contender or the number-three contender (in cases where The Ring determines that the number-two and number-three contenders are close in abilities and records).

New Policy[link]

In May 2012, citing the number of vacancies in various weight classes as primary motivation, The Ring unveiled a new championship policy. Under the new policy, the Ring title can be awarded with the 1 vs. 2 fighters face one another or when the Nos. 1 and 2 contenders choose not to fight one another and either of them fights No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5, the winner may be awarded THE RING belt. In addition, there are now six ways for a fighter to lose his title.^[2]

Many media outlets and members are extremely critical of the new championship policy and state that if this new policy is followed the Ring title will lose the credibility it once held.^{[3] [4] [5]}

[edit] Current The Ring world champions

Weight class:	Champion:	Date won:
Strawweight	vacant
Junior flyweight	vacant
Flyweight	Sonny Boy Jaro	2 March 2012
Junior bantamweight	vacant
Bantamweight	vacant
Junior featherweight	vacant
Featherweight	vacant
Junior lightweight	vacant
Lightweight	vacant
Junior welterweight	vacant
Welterweight	vacant
Junior middleweight	vacant
Middleweight	Sergio Gabriel Martínez	17 April 2010
Super middleweight	Andre Ward	17 December 2011
Light Heavyweight	Chad Dawson	28 April 2012
Cruiserweight	Yoan Pablo Hernandez	4 February 2012
Heavyweight	Wladimir Klitschko	20 June 2009

Scandal[link]

In 1976 The Ring magazine fabricated records of selected boxers, to elevate them, thereby securing them lucrative fights on the American ABC television network, as part of the United States Championship Tournament. ^[6]

The United States Championship Tournament was a promotional effort by promoter Don King to capitalize on the patriotism surrounding the United States Bicentennial and the American amateur success at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. King's "hope" was to defeat the non-American boxers who held the vast majority of world titles below the Heavyweight division. Keeping in line with the patriotic theme of the promotion, King held shows at "patriotic" locales—such as the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, as well as on an aircraft carrier stationed off Pensacola, Florida.

Despite the above, the 1977 Ring Record Book contained the fictitious additions to the records of the boxers in question, and were never taken out of their records of the boxers. Those dubious bouts would continue to appear in subsequent Ring Record Book editions.

This Ring Record Magazine scandal was uncovered by boxing writer Malcolm 'Flash' Gordon and ABC staffer Alex Wallau. After Gordon and Wallau's evidence was presented to ABC executives the United States Championship tournament was cancelled. It led to the eventual resignation of New York State Boxing Commissioner James Farley Jr. who had lent his name to the Championship fights^[7] and who was the son of former New York State Athletic Commissioner and former Postmaster General James Farley, who had died one year prior to the scandal. Farley had accepted a hotel room which had been furnished by King, this was used to smear Farley as dirty for accepting kickbacks, forcing his eventual resignation. No formal charges of impropriety were ever filed against Farley. The following year the Boxing Writers Association dedicated their highest honor the "James A. Farley Award", for honesty and integrity in the sport of Boxing.

See also[link]

• List of The Ring world champions
• Ring Magazine fighters of the year
• Ring Magazine fights of the year
• Ring Magazine knockouts of the year
• Ring Magazine upsets of the year
• Ring Magazine comeback of the year
• Ring Magazine event of the year
• Ring Magazine round of the year
• Ring Magazine progress of the year (discontinued)
• Ring Magazine prospect of the year (discontinued between 1989 and 2010)^[8]
• Ring Magazine pound for pound
• Ring Magazine hall of fame
• The Ring: Boxing The 20th Century

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Ring Online

Ricky Hatton
Statistics
Real name	Richard John Hatton
Nickname(s)	The Hitman The Manchester Mexican The Pride of Hyde Ricky Fatton
Rated at	Light Welterweight Welterweight
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[1]
Reach	65 in (165 cm)
Nationality	British[2][3]
Born	(1978-10-06) 6 October 1978 (age 33) Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, UK
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	47
Wins	45
Wins by KO	32
Losses	2
Draws	0
No contests	0

Richard John "Ricky" Hatton MBE (born 6 October 1978, Stockport, Greater Manchester, England), is a retired British professional boxer and a current boxing promoter.

He is a former WBA (Super), IBF & The Ring Light Welterweight Champion and WBA Welterweight Champion. After losing his last fight to Manny Pacquiao, Hatton put his career on a long hiatus, with rumours of a comeback circulating the media since.^[4][5] However, on 7 July 2011, Hatton announced his retirement from boxing.^[6][7][8]

Biography[link]

Born in Stockport, Hatton was raised on the Hattersley council estate in Hyde, Greater Manchester and trained at the Sale West ABC (Racecourse Estate). He was educated at Hattersley High School. His grandfather and his father both played for Rochdale and Ricky had a trial for the youth team. He found a local boxing club in Hyde to train at. His entrance music is the Manchester City club song "Blue Moon", as performed by the band "Supra."^[9] Aged 14, Hatton was taken by his uncles Ged and Paul to Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium to watch the second fight between Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank. He joined the family carpet business on leaving school, but after he cut four of his fingers with a Stanley knife, his father made him a salesman to prevent him from losing his fingers.^[10]

Boxing career[link]

Hatton in training on 1 May 2006.

Hatton's debut fight was on 10 September 1997 against Colin McAuley in Widnes at Kingsway Leisure Centre (he won by a TKO in first round),^[11] while in his second fight Hatton boxed at Madison Square Garden in New York.^[11]

Hatton vs. Tszyu[link]

On 5 June 2005, Hatton defeated The Ring & IBF Light Welterweight Champion Kostya Tszyu, then widely regarded as one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world by a technical knockout after the Australian failed to answer the bell for the 12th round. Hatton was a heavy underdog for this fight and the victory announced his entry to the upper echelons of the world boxing scene. Prior to the fight, the majority of boxing critics had given Hatton little or no chance and this victory was regarded as one of the best victories by an English boxer in the last 20 years. On 26 November 2005, Hatton won the WBA Light Welterweight title when he defeated Carlos Maussa in the ninth round of a unification bout.^[12] In December, Hatton was named the 2005 Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year.^[13]

Hatton relinquished his IBF belt on 29 March 2006 after refusing to fulfil a mandatory defence against number one contender Naoufel Ben Rabah because he intended to move up to the welterweight class.^[14] Hatton signed a three fight contract with Dennis Hobson's fight academy after splitting from long time promoter Frank Warren.^[15] The three fights would take place in the United States.

Moving to Welterweight[link]

Hatton moved up a division to meet American Luis Collazo for the WBA Welterweight Championship crown which took place on 13 May 2006.^[16] Hatton won the WBA crown from Collazo but struggled. Hatton started well, knocking Collazo down in the very first few seconds of the first round,^[17] but it turned out to be one of the toughest fights of his career, with some boxing analysts claiming Collazo won the fight,^[17] although many thought Hatton had done enough early on to secure victory, with the knockdown a pivotal point in the fight.

Back to Light Welterweight[link]

Hatton's first fight back at light welterweight was against the current IBF Light Welterweight Champion Juan Urango for his title and the vacant IBO Light Welterweight title on 20 January 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hatton's promoter, Dennis Hobson, stated that the impetus for moving back down was to set up a fight with José Luis Castillo, a fighter who nearly beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. at lightweight in 2002.^[18]

Wikinews has related news: Ricky Hatton regains IBF Light Welterweight Title

Hatton ended up winning a 12 round unanimous decision against Urango to re-capture the IBF Light Welterweight title. He won all but one round on all three judges' scorecards. Castillo, who was on the undercard, also won (via split decision), setting up their long-awaited fight.

Hatton was forced to relinquish his IBF title again on 10 February to be able to fight Castillo. The fight was held on 23 June 2007, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada.^[19] In round four, Hatton landed a "perfect" left hook to the liver, which put Castillo to the canvas.^[20] Ricky later claimed that 4 of Castillo's ribs were broken with this one punch. Unable to stand up, Castillo was counted out for the first time in his career.

Hatton vs. Mayweather, Jr.[link]

Press Conference in Manchester, 2007

Hatton agreed to terms on 27 July for a 8 December 2007 welterweight fight with Floyd Mayweather, Jr.^[21] which was considered to be the biggest welterweight fight since the 1999 clash between Oscar De La Hoya and Puerto Rican legend Tito Trinidad. The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas was announced as the venue on 17 August 2007. The fight was agreed to less than three months after Mayweather had said he planned to retire following a victory over Oscar De La Hoya. Hatton was able to bring the fight to Mayweather in the early rounds. In the 1st round, Hatton caught Mayweather with a left jab which knocked Mayweather off balance.^[22] His constant pressure appeared to make Mayweather uncomfortable at first. In the third round, Mayweather landed a right that cut Hatton above the right eye.^[23] In round six, referee Joe Cortez took a point away from Hatton after he appeared to hit Mayweather on the back of the head while Mayweather was rested between the ropes.^[24] However, the punch was revealed to have hit the rope rather than Mayweather's head, but Hatton was warned for punching behind the head on numerous occasions before the deduction. Hatton became angry at the referee's decision to deduct a point and turned his back on him. Hatton later claimed he was angered by the referee, which caused him to lose his calm and contributed to his downfall.^[25] Hatton was able to hold his own until round eight, when Mayweather began to adapt to Hatton and started counterattacking. Mayweather knocked Hatton down to the mat in round ten.^[26] Hatton got up, but Mayweather quickly resumed his attack, resulting in Joe Cortez putting a stop to the fight and Hatton's corner threw in the towel. Mayweather commented post-match that "Ricky Hatton is one tough fighter. He is still a champion in my eyes and I'd love to see him fight again ... Ricky Hatton is probably one of toughest competitors I've faced. I hit him with some big ones but he kept coming and I can see why they call him the 'Hitman'."^[27] The fight received large amounts of publicity, with both fighters promoting the fight heavily.

Hatton vs. Lazcano[link]

On 24 May 2008, Hatton beat Mexican Juan Lazcano by unanimous decision with scores of 120-110, 120-108 and 118-110,^[28] in front of his home crowd of 55,000 (a post-World War II record for a boxing match in Britain),^[29] at City of Manchester Stadium to retain The Ring Magazine and IBO Light Welterweight titles.^[30] Hatton did well when he boxed and controlled the range, utilizing his jab and dominating a lot of the early exchanges. In round eight, Hatton absorbed a left hook to the chin that wobbled him. In round ten, Hatton was hurt again by a left hook.^[30][31] Despite that, Hatton outworked Lazcano to win at least ten of the rounds.

Hatton vs. Malignaggi[link]

Ricky Hatton fought Paulie Malignaggi of the United States at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on 22 November for Hatton's The Ring Light Welterweight title.^[32] He was trained for the fight by Floyd Mayweather, Sr.^[33] Hatton dominated for all of the fight and defeated Malignaggi by 11th-round TKO when Malignaggi's trainer, Buddy McGirt, threw in the towel 48 seconds into the round.^[34]

Hatton vs. Pacquiao[link]

Hatton fought Manny Pacquiao on 2 May 2009 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The fight was at light welterweight, which was the sixth weight category Pacquiao has fought at and is the weight at which Hatton was previously undefeated.^[35] Pacquiao defeated Hatton in the second round by a KO victory after knocking Hatton down twice in the first round. Following the loss to Pacquiao, Hatton put his career on hiatus. After more than a year out of action, in a June 2010 interview with Gulfnews.com, the British boxer seemed uninterested in coming to the ring again. He stated: "Boxing started off as a habit and it ended up giving me some money and making me a little bit of a better person. But I don't think I will have a fight again. But you can never say never as I have not announced officially that I won't be boxing. At the moment I don't have any fire in the belly for a fight or to get myself to a gym." However, Hatton also added: "But it has been only 13 months and I am only 31, so never count me out."^[36]

Hatton has also voiced suspicion that Manny Pacquiao may be using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). Hatton said he should have made the same blood testing demand as Floyd Mayweather, Jr., whose fight against the Filipino fighter fell through in early 2010.^[37]

Hatton vs. Morales talks[link]

It was confirmed on 20 April 2011 that there has been some early stage talks between Hatton and Erik Morales. Although the fight would be subject to Hatton regaining his boxing licence after it was revoked in September 2010.^[38]

Outside the ring[link]

Hatton is a passionate supporter of Manchester City, with strong links to the club via his father and grandfather, who are both former players. Ricky also once had a trial at City for the youth team. His entrance music is the club's song "Blue Moon" as performed by the band "Supra". Good friend Wayne Rooney,^[39] who plays for arch rivals Manchester United, has been with Hatton in his dressing room before a bout and carried one of his belts to the ring. Ricky's best friend is Lee Rawsthorne, who regularly carries Ricky's belt into the ring. Hatton is also good friends with another footballer, Joey Barton,^[40] a former Manchester City player. Ricky also follows the non-league football club Hyde United and often attends home matches.^{[citation needed]} In an appearance on Al Murray's Happy Hour he admitted that if he could hit one celebrity, it would be Cristiano Ronaldo who at the time played for Manchester United.

Regarding his nickname, Ricky said, "I've always been a fan of Tommy Hearns, and everybody associates that that's where I got it from, but everybody's a Tommy Hearns fan. I got the nickname the first day I walked in the gym. I was 10 years old and put a pair of gloves on and started walloping the bag, and my amateur coach said, "Look at him, look how evil he is. He's a little Hitman."^[1]

Ricky Hatton does "Ricky Fatton"

Hatton is sometimes referred to by boxing fans as "Ricky Fatton"^[41] because he's been known to allow himself to weigh as much as 175 to 180 pounds (35 to 40 pounds over his fight weight) when he's not in training for a fight. Ever since Hatton turned professional, he has always opted to eat a full English breakfast before fights - his favourite place in Hyde is The Butty Box in Mottram Road, where he was interviewed by Gaby Logan for Inside Sport; and he is known to drink Guinness on Thursday night when he plays darts for the New Inn. Hatton defends his diet, citing that he plans to retire within the next four major bouts - experts have used his ill-balanced diet, akin to Jake LaMotta's ballooning up between fights, to explain his poor performances in recent fights, and nature to tire towards the end of fights.^[42] Hatton also appeared on ITV1's daytime show Loose Women in August 2007, stating that the reason why he puts on weight between fights is because "I have a lot on my plate at the moment."^[43]

Hatton appeared on the Friday Night with Jonathan Ross show in March 2007. When the host, Ross, placed some pads on his hands and gave Hatton gloves to hit them with, he knocked a pad clean off Ross's hand with a powerful left hook. Interviewed on ITV1's Parkinson on 13 October 2007, at the beginning of the interview, Hatton handed Michael Parkinson a custom made pair of boxing shorts with 'Mike' and 'Parky' written on them, the shorts had the Barnsley emblem on them and were coloured red and blue, Barnsley Football Club's colours, because Parkinson supports Barnsley. While talking about Floyd Mayweather's arrogance, Hatton said "if there was such a thing as re-incarnation, Floyd would come back as himself."^[44]

Hatton received the MBE for services to sport in the 2007 New Year Honours.^[45]

In 2008, he started hosting his own live chat show called Ricky Speaks,^[46] on Nuts TV. His father, Ray Hatton, said, "We had a conversation with a third party asking whether, if we were approached by the Mayweather team, would a possible rematch be on the cards."^[47] Ray Hatton added: "Really at the moment we're looking at Manny Pacquiao. It's very nice for Ricky to still be in such a big league."^[48]

Although negotiations stalled at some points, Hatton fought the number one pound-for-pound fighter Manny Pacquiao on 2 May 2009.^[35][49] Hatton hosted the 9 November edition of WWE Raw, defeating Chavo Guerrero in a match.

On 13 September 2010, Hatton was admitted to a rehabilitation facility, The Priory, in Roehampton, London, UK, for substance abuse to tackle a drink and depression problem. He was caught on camera apparently snorting class A drugs, lines of cocaine in a Manchester hotel room. Doctors said they were more worried about his depression and alcohol abuse than drug use. Hatton sought medical help two weeks prior, after news emerged about a night out where he drank 11 pints of Guinness, Vodka and Sambucca during the night out with Emma Bowe, 29, the Irish national senior women’s boxing champion. It is now uncertain if he will return to the ring in the future, or will retire as he has already hinted.^[50]

Family[link]

Hatton's mother, Carol, still works on the carpet stall on Glossop Market in the Peak District. His father Ray is his manager,^[51] and also manages his brother and fellow boxer Matthew Hatton. Ricky and his girlfriend Jennifer Dooley live in his house, the "Heartbreak Hotel" named after his favourite artist Elvis, in Hyde.^[39]

Hatton has a son, Campbell, conceived after a short reconciliation with ex-girlfriend, Claire. Hatton set up a trust fund to make sure his son was always provided for, and sees him every day.^[52]

On 12 September 2010, the Sunday tabloid News of the World published a front-page story alleging Hatton has been a regular cocaine user with accompanying pictures showing the boxer apparently using the drug.^[53] Hatton is said to be "devastated" following the story.^[54]

Charity[link]

Hatton is a supporter of The Village News, Haughton Green's local children's newspaper made by children in aid of charity. Hatton supported them at a charity auction by appearing and signing boxing gloves, with the evening raising £1,600. Ricky was also recently a special guest-speaker for The Toby Henderson Trust at a sportsmans' dinner at the Gosforth Marriott Hotel. Thanks to Ricky's help via donations and a highly successful auction, a lot of money was raised for the Centre for First Inistuitives in Crosby Liverpool.

Fans[link]

Hatton has attracted many fans who are very vocal in their support during fights. The main chant is a modified version of the popular Christmas song "Winter Wonderland", with the lyrics changed to promote Hatton.^[55]

There's only one Ricky Hatton,
One Ricky Hatton,
Walking along,
Singing this song,
Walking in a Hatton wonderland.

Hatton fans also like to taunt the opponent by singing "Who are ya?", a popular English football chant. Along with Floyd Mayweather, Hatton is referenced by New York rapper GZA on the track "Paper Plates" of his 2008 album, Pro Tools.^[56]

Professional boxing record[link]

45 Wins (32 knockouts, 12 decisions, 1 disqualification), 2 Losses (2 knockouts, 0 decisions), 0 Draws[57]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	45–2	Manny Pacquiao	KO	2 (12), 2:59	2009-05-02	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	Lost The Ring & IBO Light Welterweight titles.
Win	45–1	Paulie Malignaggi	TKO	11 (12), 0:48	2008-11-22	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained The Ring & IBO Light Welterweight titles.
Win	44–1	Juan Lazcano	UD	12	2008-05-24	City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester	Retained The Ring & IBO Light Welterweight titles.
Loss	43–1	Floyd Mayweather Jr.	TKO	10 (12), 1:35	2007-12-08	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	For WBC & The Ring Welterweight title.
Win	43–0	José Luis Castillo	KO	4 (12), 2:16	2007-06-23	Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained The Ring and IBO & won vacant WBC International Light Welterweight titles.
Win	42–0	Juan Urango	UD	12	2007-01-20	Paris Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained The Ring & won IBF and vacant IBO Light Welterweight titles.
Win	41–0	Luis Collazo	UD	12	2006-05-13	TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts	Won WBA Welterweight title.
Win	40–0	Carlos Maussa	KO	9 (12), 1:10	2005-11-26	Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield, Yorkshire	Retained The Ring & IBF & and won WBA Light Welterweight titles.
Win	39–0	Kostya Tszyu	RTD	11 (12), 3:00	2005-06-04	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester	Won The Ring & IBF Light Welterweight titles.
Win	38–0	Ray Oliveira	KO	10 (12), 1:38	2004-12-11	ExCel Arena, Dockland, London	Retained WBU Light Welterweight title.
Win	37–0	Michael Stewart	TKO	5 (12), 2:57	2004-10-01	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester	Retained WBU Light Welterweight title. IBF Light Welterweight Title Eliminator.
Win	36–0	Carlos Vilchés	UD	12	2004-06-12	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester	Retained WBU Light Welterweight title.
Win	35–0	Dennis Pedersen	TKO	6 (12), 2:32	2004-04-03	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester	Retained WBU Light Welterweight title.
Win	34–0	Ben Tackie	UD	12	2003-12-13	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester	Retained WBU Light Welterweight title.
Win	33–0	Aldo Nazareno Rios	RTD	9 (12), 3:00	2003-09-27	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester	Retained WBU Light Welterweight title.
Win	32–0	Vince Phillips	UD	12	2003-04-05	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester	Retained WBU Light Welterweight title.
Win	31–0	Joe Hutchinson	KO	4 (12), 1:16	2002-12-14	Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, Tyne and Wear	Retained WBU Light Welterweight title.
Win	30–0	Stephen Smith	DQ	2 (12), 0:28	2002-09-28	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester	Retained WBU Light Welterweight title.
Win	29–0	Eamonn Magee	UD	12	2002-06-01	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester	Retained WBU Light Welterweight title.
Win	28–0	Mikhail Krivolapov	TKO	9 (12), 2:31	2002-02-09	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester	Retained WBU Light Welterweight title.
Win	27–0	Justin Rowsell	TKO	2 (12), 0:36	2001-12-15	Wembley Conference Centre, Wembley, London	Retained WBU Light Welterweight title.
Win	26–0	Freddie Pendleton	KO	2 (12), ?	2001-10-27	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester	Retained WBU Light Welterweight title.
Win	25–0	John Bailey	TKO	5 (12), 0:36	2001-09-15	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester	Retained WBU Light Welterweight title.
Win	24–0	Jason Rowland	KO	4 (12), 2:08	2001-07-07	Manchester Velodrome, Manchester	Retained WBU Light Welterweight title.
Win	23–0	Tony Pep	TKO	4 (12), 2:30	2001-03-26	Wembley Conference Centre, Wembley, London	Won vacant WBU Light Welterweight title.
Win	22–0	Jon Thaxton	UD	12	2000-10-21	Wembley Conference Centre, Wembley, London	Won vacant BBBofC British Light Welterweight title.
Win	21–0	Giuseppe Lauri	TKO	5 (12), 1:57	2000-09-23	York Hall, Bethnal Green, London	Retained WBO & won WBA Inter-Continental Light Welterweight title.
Win	20–0	Gilbert Quiros	KO	2 (12), 1:48	2000-06-10	Fox Theatre, Detroit, Michigan	Retained WBO Inter-Continental Light Welterweight title.
Win	19–0	Ambioris Figuero	TKO	4 (12), 0:49	2000-05-16	Spectrum Arena, Warrington, Cheshire	Retained WBO Inter-Continental Light Welterweight title.
Win	18–0	Pedro Alonso Teran	TKO	4 (12), 2:55	2000-03-25	Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool, Merseyside	Retained WBO Inter-Continental Light Welterweight title.
Win	17–0	Leoncio Garces	TKO	3 (8), 1:37	2000-01-29	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester
Win	16–0	Mark Winters	TKO	4 (12), 0:51	1999-12-11	Everton Park Sports Centre, Liverpool, Merseyside	Retained WBO Inter-Continental Light Welterweight title.
Win	15–0	Bernard Paul	RTD	4 (12), 3:00	1999-10-09	Bowler's Arena, Manchester	Retained WBO Inter-Continental Light Welterweight title.
Win	14–0	Mark Ramsey	UD	6	1999-07-17	The Dome Leisure Centre, Doncaster, Yorkshire
Win	13–0	Dillon Carew	TKO	5 (12), 2:00	1999-05-29	North Bridge Leisure Centre, Halifax, Yorkshire	Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental Light Welterweight title.
Win	12–0	Brian Coleman	KO	2 (10), ?	1999-04-03	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London
Win	11–0	Tommy Peacock	TKO	2 (10), 2:21	1999-02-27	Sports Centre, Oldham	Won vacant BBBofC Central Area Light Welterweight title.
Win	10–0	Paul Denton	TKO	6 (8), 0:19	1998-12-19	Everton Park Sports Centre, Liverpool, Merseyside
Win	9–0	Kevin Carter	TKO	1 (6), ?	1998-10-31	Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	8–0	Pascal Montulet	KO	2 (6), ?	1998-09-19	Arena Oberhausen, Oberhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win	7–0	Anthony Campbell	UD	6	1998-07-18	Ponds Forge, Sheffield, Yorkshire
Win	6–0	Mark Ramsey	UD	6	1998-05-30	Whitchurch Leisure Centre, Bristol, Avon
Win	5–0	Karl Taylor	TKO	1 (6), ?	1998-04-18	M.E.N. Arena, Manchester
Win	4–0	Paul Salmon	TKO	1 (4), ?	1998-03-27	Ice Rink, Telford, Shropshire
Win	3–0	David Thompson	KO	1 (4), 2:29	1998-01-17	Whitchurch Leisure Centre, Bristol, Avon
Win	2–0	Robbie Alvarez	UD	4	1997-12-19	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	1–0	Colin McAuley	TKO	1 (4), ?	1997-09-11	Kingsway Leisure Centre, Widnes, Cheshire	Hatton's professional debut.

Titles in boxing[link]

Amateur career[link]

National:

• ABA National Junior Champion (Class C) Light Welterweight 1994
• ABA National Junior Champion (Class A) Light Welterweight 1995, 1996
• ABA National Junior Champion (Class B) Light Welterweight 1997
• ABA National Champion Light Welterweight 1997

Professional career[link]

Major World Titles:

• IBF Light Welterweight Champion (140 lbs)
• WBA Light Welterweight Champion (140 lbs)
• WBA Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)
• (2) IBF Light Welterweight Champion (140 lbs)

Minor World Titles:

• WBU Light Welterweight Champion (140 lbs)
• IBO Light Welterweight Champion (140 lbs)

The Ring/Lineal Championship Titles:

• The Ring Light Welterweight Champion (140 lbs)

Regional/International Titles:

• BBBofC Central Area Light Welterweight Champion (140 lbs)
• WBO Inter-Continental Light Welterweight Champion (140 lbs)
• WBA Inter-Continental Light Welterweight Champion (140 lbs)
• BBBofC British Light Welterweight Champion (140 lbs)
• WBC International Light Welterweight Champion (140 lbs)

Awards[link]

• The Ring 2005 'Fighter Of The Year' Award

See also[link]

• List of current world boxing champions
• Ring Magazine pound for pound

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Ricky Hatton

• Official website
• Professional boxing record for Ricky Hatton from BoxRec
• HBO Ricky Hatton profile

Lucian Bute
Statistics
Real name	Lucian Bute
Nickname(s)	Le Tombeur Mister KO
Rated at	Super Middleweight
Height	6 ft 1.5 in (1.87 m)
Reach	72 in (183 cm)
Nationality	Romanian Canadian
Born	(1980-02-28) February 28, 1980 (age 32) Pechea, Galaţi County, Romania
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	31
Wins	30
Wins by KO	24
Losses	1
Draws	0
No contests	0 Official Site

Medal record
Competitor for  Romania
World Amateur Boxing Championships
Bronze	1999 Houston	Welterweight
Francophone Games
Gold	2001 Ottawa-Hull	Welterweight

Lucian Bute (born February 28, 1980)^[1] is a Romanian-Canadian professional boxer fighting out of Montreal, Canada. Bute is a former IBF Super Middleweight Champion. BoxRec has previously ranked him as the 9th pound for pound best boxer in the world and number 2 at super middleweight in 2012, after Andre Ward.^[2]

Personal life[link]

Lucian Bute was born on February 28, 1980 in Pechea, Galaţi County, Romania.

He also holds Canadian citizenship, gained in 2012.^[3]

Amateur highlights[link]

As an amateur, Bute won the bronze medal at the 1999 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Houston, Texas and the Gold Medal at the 2001 Francophone Games. Bute also represented Romania at the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Bangkok, Thailand as a middleweight.

2003 World Amateur Championship Results[link]

• Defeated Aleksandr Bogdanets (Latvia) RSC 2
• Defeated Dmitri Usagin (Bulgaria) 22-10
• Lost to Gennady Golovkin (Kazakhstan) KO 4

Professional career[link]

Lucian Bute turned pro in 2000. He is still trained by Stéphan Larouche, who also trained former world champions Éric Lucas and Leonard Doroftei.

IBF Super Middleweight Champion[link]

On June 15, 2007, Bute faced super middleweight contender and former Olympian Sakio Bika at the Bell Centre in Montreal in an elimination bout for the IBF title. Bute beat Bika by unanimous decision (116-111, 118-109, 118-109) and, as a result, he got his shot at the IBF Super Middleweight Champion Alejandro Berrio on October 19, 2007. Bute beat Berrio via TKO in the 11th round. With this victory, Bute became the third Romanian professional boxing world champion after Leonard Doroftei and Mihai Leu.

Andrade Controversy[link]

On October 24, 2008, Bute defeated Mexico's Librado Andrade by unanimous decision but the end of the fight was marred with controversy.^[4] While Bute dominated his opponent through most of the fight, he nearly lost the title when he was knocked down by Andrade with two seconds left in the 12th and final round. When the referee, Marlon B. Wright, reached the eight count, the bell sounding the end of the match rang. However, the referee stopped the count temporarily when he signaled Andrade to return to his corner.^[5]

Bute vs. Zúñiga[link]

Bute defeated three-time world title challenger Fulgencio Zúñiga on March 13, 2009. In round four, Bute knocked Zúñiga down with a left uppercut to the body. Zúñiga got up, but Bute continued the assault, eventually leading to a stoppage by the referee.^[6]

Bute vs. Andrade II[link]

On November 29, 2009, Lucian Bute fought Andrade in a rematch and won with a fourth-round KO at Colisee Pepsi in Quebec City, Canada. Bute retained his IBF Super Middleweight title.

Bute vs. Miranda[link]

On April 17, 2010, Bute stopped Edison Miranda at 1:22 of the third round to retain his IBF Super Middleweight title in Montreal in front of nearly 15,000 fans. Miranda lost the first two rounds and he was knocked out during the third round with a left uppercut to the jaw. Miranda got back on his feet but the referee decided to stop the fight seconds after, so the result was a technical knockout.^[7]

Bute vs. Brinkley[link]

On October 15, at the Bell Centre in Montréal, IBF Super Middleweight Champion Lucian Bute scored an impressive ninth round KO over mandatory challenger Jesse Brinkley. It was mostly a tactical fight until Bute dropped Brinkley with a left uppercut to the body in round five. Brinkley barely beat the count. Bute floored Brinkley for the second time in round eight and knocked him out with an uppercut in round nine. It was Bute’s sixth title defense.^[8]

Bute vs. Magee[link]

Bute dominated and stopped European Super Middleweight Champion Brian Magee in the 10th round in a mostly one-sided fight at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Magee showed incredible heart throughout and had some good moments in the earlier rounds. However, Bute wore Magee down, knocking him down three times – once in the 6th, another time in the 7th and a final time in the 10th. Bute won the fight with an uppercut in the 10th round. The bout was stopped at 2:04 of the round. The fight took place on March 19, 2011. This was Bute's seventh successful defense in a row.^[9]

Back home[link]

Bute successfully defended his IBF Super Middleweight title for the eighth time in a row in Romania on 9 July 2011 against the previously unbeaten Jean-Paul Mendy of France. The Frenchman was the IBF's number one contender and the mandatory challenger.^[10] This was Bute's first defense in Romania and his second fight there since 2005. The event took place at Romexpo and Bute won in the fourth round by knockout.^[11]

Bute vs. Johnson[link]

Bute defeated Glen Johnson via unanimous decision at Québec City's Colisée Pepsi in arguably the biggest fight of his career to date. The judges scorecards read 119-109 and 120-108 twice.

No Easy Way Out[link]

The IBF officially enforced Carl Froch as Lucian Bute's number one mandatory. The fight, billed as "No Easy Way Out," took place on 26 May 2012 in Froch's hometown of Nottingham.^[12] Despite being the overwhelming underdog with bookmakers, critics and fans around the world, Froch dominated Bute throughout the fight to become the IBF Super Middleweight Championship via TKO in round five.^{[13] [14] [15]}

Professional boxing record[link]

30 Wins (24 knockouts, 6 decisions), 1 Losses (1 knockout, 0 decisions), 0 Draws[16]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	30–1	Carl Froch	TKO	5 (12), 1:05	2012-05-26	Capital FM Arena, Nottingham, United Kingdom	Lost IBF Super Middleweight title.
Win	30–0	Glen Johnson	UD	12	2011-11-05	Colisée Pepsi, Quebec, Quebec, Canada	Retained IBF Super Middleweight title.
Win	29–0	Jean-Paul Mendy	KO	4 (12), 2:48	2011-07-09	Romexpo, Bucharest, Romania	Retained IBF Super Middleweight title.
Win	28–0	Brian Magee	TKO	10 (12), 2:04	2011-03-19	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Retained IBF Super Middleweight title.
Win	27–0	Jesse Brinkley	KO	9 (12), 2:48	2010-10-15	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Retained IBF Super Middleweight title.
Win	26–0	Edison Miranda	TKO	3 (12), 1:22	2010-04-17	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Retained IBF Super Middleweight title.
Win	25–0	Librado Andrade	KO	4 (12), 2:57	2009-11-28	Colisée Pepsi, Quebec, Quebec, Canada	Retained IBF Super Middleweight title.
Win	24–0	Fulgencio Zúñiga	TKO	4 (12), 2:25	2009-03-13	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Retained IBF Super Middleweight title.
Win	23–0	Librado Andrade	UD	12	2008-10-24	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Retained IBF Super Middleweight title.
Win	22–0	William Joppy	TKO	10 (12), 1:08	2008-02-29	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Retained IBF Super Middleweight title.
Win	21–0	Alejandro Berrio	TKO	11 (12), 1:27	2007-10-19	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Won IBF Super Middleweight title.
Win	20–0	Sakio Bika	UD	12	2007-06-15	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	IBF Super Middleweight Title Eliminator.
Win	19–0	Sergey Tatevosyan	UD	12	2007-01-26	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Retained WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight title.
Win	18–0	James Obede Toney	TKO	8 (12), 2:49	2006-09-15	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Retained NABF, NABA & WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight titles.
Win	17–0	Lolenga Mock	UD	12	2006-05-16	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Retained WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight title.
Win	16–0	Andre Thysse	UD	12	2006-03-24	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Retained WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight title.
Win	15–0	Donnell Wiggins	KO	2 (12), 2:53	2005-12-02	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Retained NABA Super Middleweight title.
Win	14–0	Kabary Salem	TKO	8 (12), 3:00	2005-09-16	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Won vacant NABF & vacant WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight titles.
Win	13–0	Jose Spearman	KO	8 (12), 2:13	2005-06-03	Maurice Richard Arena, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Retained NABA Super Middleweight title.
Win	12–0	Donny McCrary	KO	4 (12), 2:10	2005-04-21	Siderurgistul Hall, Galaţi, Romania	Retained NABA Super Middleweight title.
Win	11–0	Christian Cruz	TKO	12 (12), 2:18	2005-03-18	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Won vacant NABA Super Middleweight title.
Win	10–0	Carl Handy	TKO	4 (12), 2:09	2005-02-19	Pavillon de la Jeunesse, Quebec, Canada	Won vacant NABF Light Heavyweight title.
Win	9–0	Dingaan Thobela	TKO	4 (8), 1:22	2004-12-03	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win	8–0	Norman Johnson	TKO	2 (6), 1:19	2004-11-01	The Roxy, Boston, United States
Win	7–0	Willard Lewis	TKO	3 (8), 3:00	2004-10-30	Le Medley, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win	6–0	Rico Cason	TKO	2 (6), 2:43	2004-10-16	Club Ovation, Boynton Beach, Florida, United States
Win	5–0	Tyler Hughes	TKO	3 (6), 2:46	2004-07-24	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	4–0	Zane Marks	TKO	1 (4), 2:35	2004-04-24	Colisée Pepsi, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
Win	3–0	Jean Pascal Service	KO	1 (4), 1:48	2004-03-20	Casino de Montréal, Notre-Dame, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win	2–0	Darin Johnson	TKO	1 (4), 2:50	2003-12-20	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win	1–0	Robert Muhammad	TKO	2 (4), 2:05	2003-11-22	Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Bute's professional debut.