Hatton ‘reborn’ by switch to Mayweather Sr. as trainer

The fighter is a blue-collar, Guinness-guzzling, 30-year-old Englishman. The trainer is a 56-year-old from Grand Rapids, Mich., with a penchant for bling and flamboyant attire.

Call them boxing's Odd Couple.

But Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather Sr. have a lot more in common than one might imagine. Both love the fight game, love to compete and love to win.

In that sense, they were made for each other.

Mayweather Sr., the father of the fighter who destroyed Hatton nearly a year ago in Las Vegas, will be in Hatton's corner tonight when he faces Paulie Malignaggi in a 12-round junior welterweight fight at the MGM Grand Garden.

"I almost feel reborn," Hatton said of his two months of work with Mayweather Sr. as his lead trainer. "I always believed I had it in me to be a complete boxer, but it took someone of Floyd's skills to bring it out in me, and I intend to show it."

Hatton, a minus-270 favorite, came in at a lean 140 pounds to Malignaggi's 139 at Friday's weigh-in, which was attended by several thousand raucous Hatton supporters, who finally made the trip from the United Kingdom.

Hatton said he is prepared to display the kind of skills that were lacking when he was stopped by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the 10th round on Dec. 8.

Expect Hatton (44-1, 31 knockouts) to utilize more head movement, better footwork, improved balance and quicker hands. While Hatton's trademark power still figures to be there, Mayweather has refined Hatton's mechanics so he doesn't leave himself open to counter-punches.

"He's been a great student, a real quick learner," Mayweather Sr. said. "We've got him slipping punches, moving better so he don't get hit as much. He's going to be the best you've ever seen him when he gets inside that ring."

Hatton had spent his entire career working with Billy Graham in Hatton's native Manchester. But Graham decided to retire in July, and Hatton needed to go in a new direction.

"It was a tough decision, but it was the right decision," Hatton said. "I feel like my last few fights I've been a bit stale. I don't feel like I've grown as a fighter.

"No disrespect to Billy. He did a fantastic job. But when you get to work with someone like Floyd Mayweather Sr., it's like opening up a whole new world."

From the outset, Mayweather made it clear that this was serious business and that all the extracurricular pursuits Hatton likes to partake in, such as hanging out at the pub, would be on hiatus until after the fight.

Hatton bought into the more disciplined approach and appears to be in phenomenal shape for tonight's fight against Malignaggi, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native who is 25-1 with five knockouts.

"I truly believe this is going to extend my career," Hatton said of his partnership with Mayweather.

The trainer decided to join Hatton when Oscar De La Hoya -- Mayweather's longtime pupil -- was trying to figure out his next opponent.

By the time De La Hoya decided in September to fight Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather already was on his way to England to work with his new protege. There was no way he could have prepared Hatton for tonight and De La Hoya for his Dec. 6 match with Pacquiao.

"Oscar don't need me to beat Pacquiao," Mayweather has said. "Ricky Hatton? He needed me. And I'm there for him."

And maybe they aren't such an odd couple after all.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.