Ricky Hatton has slammed the failure of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua to fight as “criminal”.
The Hitman has hit out at the two British heavyweight superstars for as of yet not putting on the show that the public want in the ring. Hatton also made his concerns clear about repercussions from Fury and Joshua’s scheduled bouts against Oleksandr Usyk in December and Daniel Dubois in September.
Hatton admitted that Fury looks past his prime following his performance against Usyk and previously against Francis Ngannou. “It depends on the next performances. Tyson didn’t look great against Oleksandr Usyk,” Hatton told Action Network.
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“Don’t get me wrong it was a good fight, I’m being a little bit unfair there because fighters like Usyk only come along every now and again, he’s exceptional.
“But he wasn’t great against Francis Ngannou, I think he would agree with me on that one. We’re all starting to think has Tyson got too many miles on the clock now? It seems to be the case after the last couple of fights.”
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(Image: Getty Images)
The former light-welterweight world champion admitted he fears that both fighters’ best days are behind them, saying it’s “criminal” the two Britons didn’t fight years ago.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in this one. But I don’t see the fight happening now, I think we’ve lost our chance and it was criminal it didn’t happen a few years ago when they were both in their prime,” Hatton continued.
“But I said I think Anthony Joshua beats Daniel Dubois and Tyson Fury has a good chance of beating Oleksandr Usyk if he tweaks a few little things, so it is capable of happening but I just hope we haven’t lost our chance.
“That’s the biggest fight in boxing and certainly British boxing history. If somehow Daniel Dubois ends up winning or Tyson doesn’t win and they don’t end up fighting each other then I think boxing has f***** up.
“It’s heavyweight boxing and the apple cart can get upset with one punch in boxing and then there’s rematch clauses. Sometimes the fights that we want don’t seem to happen but Tyson has a good chance of beating Usyk and I fancy AJ to come through the Dubois fight.
“But I’m more confident of Joshua winning his next fight rather than Tyson. It would be criminal if that fight doesn’t happen. Let’s have our fingers crossed as boxing fans.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Hatton lauded Saudi boxing boss Turki Alalshikh for his impact on the sport and for hosting some of the biggest fights in recent years. “(What) Turki Alalshikh has done for boxing (is incredible). He’s brought all the big fights together and for everyone to work together which is really good for boxing,” he said.
However, Hatton continued that a Fury and Joshua showdown should not be taken away from the British crowd, he added: “As much as I think our fight fans would appreciate what Turki Alalshikh has done for our sport, as British boxing fans if AJ and Tyson come through, please tell me we’re not expecting Fury and Joshua to fight in Saudi?
“I’m not being disrespectful to Turki Alalshikh, he’s been what our sport has needed.
“No disrespect to them but certain fights need to be in the United States and certain fights need to be in the UK. I’m not saying you can’t have the fights in Saudi but certain fights like AJ and Tyson Fury can only be in one place.”