A working-class hero departs.

Article first published on BigFightWeekend.com

Ricky Hatton’s impact on British boxing during an illustrious 15-year career is difficult to over state. The council estate beginnings were as important as the Vegas venues he would eventually reach in carving out his place in the affections of the tens of thousands who would follow him to the States, famously drinking the bars dry, and the many millions who loved him from afar. Every one of them feeling they knew him.

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September 19, 2025 0

Crawford and the golden footsteps of Sugar Ray

Article first appeared at BigFightWeekend.com

Pitching fighters of the moment versus icons of the past was once the lifeblood of boxing debate. A cynical observer, viewing the inertia which strangles careers and divisions in the present day, could suggest the stars of the modern era should fight their own contemporaries before fans contemplate their prospects versus the heroes of yesteryear.

Terence Crawford moving up from Welterweight to box Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez at 168 pounds is a refreshing example of a fighter daring to take a risk to pursue greatness. A sentiment not ignorant of the irrefutable truth that both men would be considered antiquities in any other era.

Nevertheless, Canelo versus Crawford is a fight which draws to mind the golden era of the Welterweight and Middleweight fights between the Four Kings, Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler and Tommy Hearns.

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September 11, 2025 0

Canelo to eek out the win?

Article first appeared at AndysBetClub

On Saturday night at the Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, 63-2-2, will box Terence Crawford, 41-0, in a contest rich in both potential and purse. Netflix will broadcast the whole event.

Bookmakers are offering markets on the matchup between these two future Hall of Famers and unsurprisingly, given the quality of the pairing, margins and certainty are hard to find. Study of the under card will offer opportunity to improve returns.

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September 10, 2025 0

Can Crawford succeed where De La Hoya failed?

Terence Crawford seeking to succeed where Oscar failed against Bernard Hopkins

Article first appeared at BigFightWeekend.com

This Saturday in Las Vegas, alas no longer the singular mecca of boxing that once it was, Terence Crawford reaches the final scenes of his decorated career on the grandest stage of all. A 17-year voyage in which he has become undisputed champion in the Lightweight, Junior Welterweight and Welterweight divisions. It is a compelling assembly of titles in an era more famous for the obstacles the sanctioning bodies impose on those pursuant of transcendent glory than the fights won to overcome them.

Despite the myriad belts he has accumulated, Crawford still needs to beat Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez if he is to claim a place alongside the pantheon of greats who have conquered multiple divisions in the generations before him. The names of Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Roberto Duran writ large among them.

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