Roach says he declined to train Hatton last year

Roach says “If he wanted to fight Amir Khan, that’s one thing. But I couldn’t train Ricky. I said I think he should retire. He’s washed up.” The funny about Roach rejecting Hatton is that although he thought Hatton was washed up as a fighter after being stopped by Pacquiao, Roach didn’t think twice about wanting to match Khan against Hatton. This seems a little off putting to me.

If  Hatton is shot and over the hill, why does Roach want to put Khan in there with him? Khan had already fought another old guy in 35-year-old Marco Antonio Barrera, who many people thought was way past it last year, and now Roach was looking to put Khan in with a guy that he thinks is shot?

Roach says “If he [Hatton] continues fighting, he’s going to jeopardize his health. I would not want to be a part of that. If he decides to fight Amir Khan, that’s up to him. He’s been a multi-world champion, he’ll go down in history for some of his great victories, and the thousands of British fans who followed him to America, he’s been there and done it, and he doesn’t need to do it anymore.”

So Roach is okay with Hatton fighting Khan, even though he’s worried about Hatton jeopardizing his health. That seems weird. First off, why put Khan in with a guy that you consider shot? What good does that do Khan? If Hatton was to fold from the first few big shots he gets hit with, does that reflect in how good Khan is or is it because he’s shot? I don’t see it being a good fight for Khan if Roach is correct about Hatton being over the hill.

What does Khan get from that other than a name on his scalp that has value in name only? That doesn’t seem right. If you want to make Khan a better fighter, shouldn’t Roach put in with a live body like WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana instead? Roach, by the way, doesn’t want Khan to fight Maidana right now. I can understand how Roach might not want to train Hatton because he’s worried about Ricky’s health, but then in the next breath to say he’s okay with Hatton fighting Khan just seems wrong to me.