Ricky Hatton Fooled Floyd Mayweather When He Offered To Pay His Restaurant Bill

Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton has recounted a classic tale from his boxing career when he fleeced Floyd Mayweather Jr. out of a load of money in a restaurant. Honestly, you’re probably best just watching the show in the video below, because the quotes don’t quite do it justice.

During his career, the Mancunian boxer hit some serious heights, becoming one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, wining multiple world belts across two divisions, and – crucially – becoming one of the sport’s most popular characters, commanding a huge travelling following wherever he fought.

However, he didn’t have much bigger fights than his bout against Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather in 2008 over in Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

Now, Floyd is no stranger to a publicity stunt, but Hatton recounted to Sky Sports how he managed to turn the tables on his rival when he started flashing the cash around in a restaurant.

He explained: “We went out for a meal and Floyd comes out and he goes ‘oh Ricky, you having a meal man? Let me get that for you'.

“He throws $100 bills all over the table and all the press are like [snap snap snap] – you know – lapping it up.

“[Floyd continued] ‘How much is that bill – oh, have some more man!’

“I went ‘how much is the bill?’ [the waiter said] about $300, $250 or something like that.

“So, I went [and] picked up all the notes [mimes putting them into his pocket] and said ‘cheers Floyd’.

“His face went like [mimes face falling].”

To be fair, anyone who is aware of Ricky Hatton knows that he’s a cheeky lad with one eye always on a joke, so it’ll be no surprise that he managed to mug Floyd off on this occasion.

However, when it came to the fight things went slightly differently.

Both athletes entered the fight with unbeaten records to protect – Hatton with 43 fights and Mayweather with 38.

If you know anything about Mayweather’s career to date, you’ll already know where this is going.

Despite both fighters going at it hammer and tongs, Mayweather eventually took control of the fight, working a cut above Hatton’s eye.

After having a point deducted for punches to the back of his opponent’s head, Hatton lost a bit of control and was eventually worn down by Mayweather’s relentless movement and counterpunching style.

In the 10^th round, Hatton was knocked down and allowed back to his feet, but Mayweather was quick to pounce again, prompting the referee to put an end to the fight.

Still, losing to Floyd Mayweather is no shame for any fighter, and Hatton retains the love of fans worldwide even after the end of his fantastic career.