I’M NOT JUST RICKY’S LAD!
Hatton Jnr on the challenges of following in footsteps of a boxing legend
CAMPBELL Hatton insists he is ready to handle the pressure that will come with being Ricky Hatton’s son.
The 19-year-old has signed a multi-fight deal with Matchroom and will start life in the paid ranks at superfeatherweight in February.
During a career spanning 48 bouts, Manchester boxing legend Ricky was a two-weight world champion.
“I can’t wait to get going and as soon as they see me in the ring they will know it is a style to take to, with the aggression but I also like to think and box as well so I think it is a style the fans will love,” said Campbell, who looks incannily like his dad in the ring.
“There will be pressure that comes, that’s a given, but the way I train, it is something that drives me.
“People will be thinking ‘Ricky Hatton’s son’ but I am working towards getting away from that and being Campbell Hatton, not Ricky Hatton’s lad.”
With Manchester City shorts on and Oasis blaring out in the background during an open training session this week, for many it would have been like going back two decades to when Ricky first started out.
And although Campbell wants to be his own man, he is keen to follow in the old man’s footsteps and headline at the Manchester Arena, where Ricky had so many amazing nights.
Campbell added: “There is a special atmosphere at the Manchester Arena, some of the nights I’ve watched like Scott Quigg, Anthony Crolla, my dad.
“I want to add my name to that and put them special nights on and get Manchester supporting me.”
Ricky admitted to a sense of deja vu with his son being unveiled during a big fight week which sees Anthony Joshua take on Kubrat Pulev tonight - like he did during the Naseem HamedBilly Hardy clash in 1997.
And while the 42-year-old achieved a huge amount during a stellar career, he has told his boy to target greater honours.
“I say to him ‘be better than me’, don’t settle for can I be as good as my dad, no, be better than me and that is the attitude he has got,” Ricky said.
“When I was a kid I wanted to be world champion, watch City and listen to Oasis and that is exactly what he wants to do.
“I never wanted him to turn pro, if I am brutally honest. He will always be my baby and I didn’t want him to turn professional because I felt I did it so he didn’t have to.
“And he was a little bit of a late bloomer, it took him a little while to get into boxing, but when he got to a certain age he started watching videos. The minute he started to get into it more, the more I could tell.
“I said to my brother Matthew he is hooked and has it. He has put his heart and soul into it. The minute you see him fight and do an interview and the style he has got and the type of person he is, my fans will be his fans.”