“From my point of view Ricky Hatton should not be fighting again,” Warren said. “It’s not good for boxing and it’s not good for Ricky Hatton. Ricky would get stopped again if he fought Amir. If he wants it, I’m sure it could happen but for his health he should definitely retire.”
■LEBEDEV V MACCARINELLI
AP, MANCHESTER, ENGLAND
Enzo Maccarinelli is considering retiring after being stopped in the third round by Denis Lebedev on Saturday, a third defeat in four fights for the former WBO cruiserweight champion.
Maccarinelli was outclassed by Lebedev (18-0, 13 KOs), whose series of unanswered left hooks made referee Terry O’Connor stop the contest at MEN Arena.
The big-punching Maccarinelli (29-4) has been struggling to rebuild his career since losing the WBO title to David Haye last March in second-round knockout.
“It looks like it [retirement], to be honest I’m just devastated,” Maccarinelli said. “I don’t think I’ve got it anymore. I trained hard but nothing went right for me, I felt a bit gun-shy.”
On a bill topped by 2004 Olympic silver medalist Amir Khan, a trio of the UK’s Beijing competitors easily made it three wins out of three since turning professional, but created little entertainment.
Middleweight gold medalist James DeGale stopped Ciaran Healey at the end of the first round with a sharp left body shot.
“It was all right, six out of 10,” De Gale said. “I’m just practicing what I do in the gym in the ring, but maybe I only hit second gear.”
There was a second-round stoppage victory for Frankie Gavin, who knocked down Graham Fearn twice to claim a third straight win.
Gavin, whose medal chances in Beijing were ruined when he had weight problems going into the Games, completely dominated with a punch-perfect performance, finishing off Fearn with a left hook to the body.
“That’s the best so far,” Gavin said. “I wasn’t tense or loose, I was more relaxed and everything went perfectly.”
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