AS the world of boxing continues to mourn the death of one of its most beloved fighters, Ricky Hatton’s archnemesis, Junior Witter, has now spoken out and paid his respects with a fitting tribute to one of Britain’s best.
Hatton, 45-3 (32 KOs), and Witter, 43-8-2 (23 KOs), had a rivalry that was born in the amateurs in the late 1990s and even continued into their retirements amid talk of potential exhibitions, as the pair continued to be linked to the fight that never was.
‘The Hitter’ famously pursued an all-British clash with ‘The Hitman’ but to no avail, forever frustrated at not getting the opportunity to defeat one of the United Kingdom’s most popular figures and talented boxers.
Meanwhile, Hatton believed that Witter was using his name to build his own fame and that he had not earned such a fight, refusing a scrap with the Bradford-born super-lightweight despite the allure of the WBC super-lightweight title.
As a result, fans have often pondered whether Witter could have gotten the better of Hatton, whilst others have dismissed the Yorkshireman’s chances in any such contest, believing Hatton to have been a level above.
Speaking to Warcry Publishing following the untimely passing of his fierce rival, Witter held no grudge and was full of respect for Hatton, revealing that the pair actually became friends following their retirement.
“There was a lot of respect, there was a lot of love within what we are, who we are and what we achieved. When you go through something in the boxing world like we did, for the amount of time that we did, we understood the roads that we were on and that understanding leads to respect.
“We got on, we weren’t the best of friends, but we were friends, and we had some really deep conversations within the time [since retirement]. It is weird knowing that he is not going to be around.”
Witter then went on to applaud both the personal achievements of the Mancunian icon and the everlasting impact that the two-division conqueror had on domestic boxing, before reminiscing about the banter that he and Hatton continued to share, even away from the spotlight.
“He had a brilliant career; he achieved so much and within respects he did everything that he wanted to do. He won his world title, he won the British, he did everything in his boxing career. He got on stage with Oasis, he got to see them, and he met his idols in that respect, so he had a full life. It’s just a shame that it ended so soon.
“That whole period was brilliant for local boxing and keeping the shows going up here. We’d had the Naz [Hamed] era and moved over to the Manchester side, and I was in Manchester all of the time.
“We had loads of press conferences [together], things that we had said [to each other] off camera, little digs and little comebacks and I’ve looked at them things and thought about how he was a big part of my career [since his passing].
“As much and as many times as I’ve tried to get away from the whole thing and not talk about him, someone always brought it back in and focused on that little bit. We’ve had some really good memories.”
Finally, Witter finished his tribute by admitting that the necessary words to describe the love that the British public had for Hatton simply do not exist.
“He was a very deeply loving and loved person and he will sadly be missed. We haven’t got words for the impact that he has had on people’s lives, in such a short life.”
