Michael "No Joke" Stewart on Ricky Hatton: "In 60 fights, he's the only guy to stop me"!

Michael "No Joke" Stewart Remembers Ricky "Hitman" Hatton

The VIP Crew: In 2004, you faced an undefeated Ricky Hatton. He was 36-0 at the time. How did that fight come to fruition and what was the preparation like for the “Hitman”?

Stewart: I fought Sharmba Mitchell in that same arena on Showtime. I lost a 12-round decision. I got dropped a couple of times, went the distance. I was rated #1 in the world; the IBF dropped me to #3 and I think they moved Hatton to #2. I can’t remember fully because it was 21 years ago, but I think they told me to fight Hatton for the WBU title, and the winner gets the winner of the Kostya Tszyu and Sharmba Mitchell fight. They told me to get a win in between. They bring in this Mexican kid [Carlos Antonio Escobar]. I stopped in the 8 th round. He didn’t come out for the 8 th round. He was tough as nails. I got cut in that fight. The fight between me and Escobar was June 18th , and three and a half months later I was fighting Ricky Hatton.

Preparation wise, I had a lot of weight to lose for the Hatton fight. I lost to Mitchell in April, got dropped three times, I beat Escobar in June, and then in October I fought Ricky. My body was a little beat up, but that’s what we did back then. When I went to fight Ricky Hatton, the whole arena hated me. Hatton’s people thought that they had been shafted on getting a title shot. Here’s the crazy thing, when I fought Mitchell over there, Hatton’s opponent had fell out. He was supposed to fight Kelson Pinto. Hatton was so strong.

The VIP Crew: I’m sure it wasn’t fun fighting him in Manchester.

Stewart: That motherfucker was a different beast to fight over there, man. He was a completely different fighter when he left that arena. Over there, that dude was unstoppable. Look what he did to Kostya Tszyu. He ended Kostya Tszyu’s career over there.

The VIP Crew: You fought 60 times, and Hatton was the only fighter to stop you. He was an extremely aggressive and amazing pressure fighter.

Stewart: I had 60 pro fights, and he was the only guy to ever stop me. The crowds he fought in front of were amazing over there and he fed off of their energy. Percy, they loved him over there. But yeah man, in 60 fights, he was the only guy to stop me. He stopped me in the 5th round.

The VIP Crew: I appreciate your time and you giving me your memories of Ricky Hatton. Before I let you go, is there anything else you want to say about the passing of “The Hitman” Ricky Hatton?

Stewart: He’s got a son, Campbell. I’m not sure if Campbell’s mom was with him at the time I fought him, but I met them all at the press conferences. I was over there for a couple of weeks. They let us train in his gym. My heart goes out to him, man. We gotta be honest, he’s in the boxing Hall of Fame because he was a hell of a fighter. He was the only guy to stop me, he ended the career of Kostya Tszyu, who is one of the greatest junior welterweights ever. My heart goes out to him and his family. One day Percy, you and me won’t be here and somebodies going to be doing a story on us.