Ricky Hatton explains why Floyd Mayweather exhibition will never happen as he opens up on 'bad blood' over referee

07/02/2024 02:38 PM

Ricky Hatton has insisted that an exhibition fight with Floyd Mayweather could turn ugly.

Hatton and Mayweather famously fought in Las Vegas in December 2007, and the Briton gave his rival a tough night at the office but was ultimately stopped in the tenth round.

After the showdown, the Briton was furious with referee Joe Cortez, who he accused of not letting him get ‘stuck in’ to the undefeated legend at the time.

And ‘The Hitman’ has now suggested he could not hold an exhibition sequel with ‘Money’ as he still feels a sense of injustice.

“I wouldn’t need Mayweather to sell out a fight, but if it was with Floyd then without doubt the tickets would have gone,” he told Prime Casino.

“Although I don’t know if an exhibition would work between me and Floyd, I don’t know if there’s too much under the table and too much bad blood.

“I was p***** off at the referee in our fight, I thought he was s***.

“I’m not saying I would have beaten Floyd anyway because it’s Floyd Mayweather, but there was an understanding between me and Marco [Antonio Marco Barrera] that this was an exhibition.

“Marco is a respectful person and so am I. But I don’t think there would be that 'wink, wink, nudge, nudge' between me and Floyd.

“But it would sell out in an hour for sure.”

Rumours gathered pace in 2023 that Hatton and Mayweather could reignite their rivalry.

But the 50-0 legend downplayed the rumours insisting he wouldn’t take on any previous competitors due to potential health risks.

Mayweather has returned in a number of non-professional contests, but largely against influencers, including Logan Paul, Deji and Aaron Chalmers.

Hatton also returned in a one-off comeback exhibition against friend Marco Antonio Barrera, as he waved farewell to his loyal fanbase in Manchester in November 2022.

But any showdown between the pair looks highly unlikely as the pair are far from their best days in the ring.

When looking back at the fight with Mayweather several years after, Hatton said in 2022 that he still felt ‘cheated’.

He said: “I did give him a good run for his money.

“I feel a little bit cheated to be honest with you, because I felt that I wasn’t going to outbox him and I wasn’t going to out-speed him, but if I was allowed to get close I would definitely throw more punches than him.

“I never got the opportunity and that’s the thing that will always eat away at me – the referee never gave me the opportunity.

“The one person that was allowed to get stuck in and bully him and was allowed to fight close was Marcos Maidana and he pushed him really close.

“Castillo was allowed to get close and a lot of people thought Castillo won, so I smelt a rat that night with the referee and I don’t think I was given a fair crack of the whip.”