Where Ricky Hatton goes, so go his legion of followers. Practically the only thing that is as astounding as his annihilation in the hands of boxing’s pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines is the fact that despite the recession that has hurt almost everyone in London, around 30,000 of Ricky Hatton’s fans flew across the Atlantic and into the waiting pockets of Las Vegas. As early as a week before the fight, thousands of Hattonites trooped to Sin City and probably lost a lot of money before they even had the chance to bet on their favorite son. Presumably they lost a few more quid when The Hitman fell for the third and last time in the second round of their superfight.

That is not the last time they will lose however. When Ricky Hatton fell he brought down with him not only the emotions and hopes of the people who loved him but also a lot of the businesses attached to him. They may not know it yet but this is the Ricky Hatton Factor. Ricky Hatton is a big reason why people spend money in England. Outside of the football giants, England does not have a sports hero as powerful in commanding fandom more than Manchester’s beloved son. Ricky means so much to businesses and this loss could alter the business universe of England. Let’s see the effects:

Airlines:

As we stated above, when Hatton fights in Las Vegas, tens of thousands of his legion follow him. In the last fight, the estimate is roughly 30,000. That is 30,000 airplane tickets! Thirty thousand! In this economy where people are scrimping on any sort of travel and would walk blocks just to save a few pounds, Hatton was able to move thirty thousand Londoners and make them buy thirty thousand tickets to go to Las Vegas. A lot of the flights these days are almost only half filled and some flights have been totally discontinued. Hatton changes all that when he fights. When they all go back to their day job, that would be another thirty thousand tickets. That’s 60,000 tickets! That’s what the Ricky Hatton Factor gives you. The airlines should be paying Ricky every time he fights just for the business he brings them.

According to the so-called sports pundits, there is a good chance that Ricky Hatton will be retiring. Even if he does, there is very little chance that he would be headlining a Vegas showdown again soon. He could fight in Vegas and probably in some undercard but the days as a headliner are over. Would the Hattonites come over to sing “One Ricky Hatton” for an undercard fight? I don’t think so.

Printing Presses and Textiles:

In the Pacquiao fight, the most memorable souvenir would be hands down, the Ricky Hatton Face Mask. I don’t think there was a Briton in the crowd who did not have it. It was a great picture of Ricky with the eye holes for the wearer’s eyes and a great smile that really shows the fighter’s spirit In fact, they were already wearing it as early as the weigh in the day before.

According to reports n Las Vegas, there were a hundred Hattons playing the craps table all over the Strip! The Union Jack flags were also very prominent during the fight. During sporting events of the international kind, flags are usually brought in by the fans o show patriotism and to remind the players what they are playing for. The same thing happened in every Hatton fight. Carrying in his shoulders the love of his countrymen, the fans show Ricky that their country loves him and supports him all the way. When Ricky stops fighting, there would be a considerable drop in the number of Union Jack flags sold. A lot of souvenir shirts depicting Hatton’s newest fight or simply his face will also plummet. Lastly, gone will be the Ricky Hatton Face Mask. Nobody wants a mask with closed eyes and a frown. Pay-Per-View: When the Pacquiao fight was being negotiated there was a long discussion about the cut that each fighter would have. While Pacquiao was the marquee name especially in the United States, Hatton was definitely the reason why Britons will be watching the fight. Hatton drives in the numbers and he therefore believes that he should get a big cut that would at least be equal Pacquiao’s, if not more. At first the fight was almost called off because Pacquiao’s fight wouldn’t agree, believing that after destroying The Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya in December, he deserves the bigger cut, just like De La Hoya always had. After much convincing, Pacquiao relented but made sure that he also had a cut in the British Pay-Per-View sales. This just goes on to underline the fact that Hatton draws a lot of Pay-Per-View customers and the money that is brought in is no small matter. In fact, it was a big matter enough to convince the other to go on with the fight. With the loss, it can be assumed that some of his fans lost a bit of interest in The Hitman. There probably won’t be another Pay-Per-View card in the US for Ricky Hatton unless, again, he’s part of the undercard of another fighter’s Supercard. He can fight in the UK but there would be a question as to that being a Pay-Per-View fight. Some fans may not be as willing to shell out hard earned money for a fight involving their hero not really fighting the best because it would just be like they’re fooling themselves. After the stature of the Mayweather and Pacquiao fights, everything else will be a let down. Even then, I do have a suggestion: How about an Oscar de La Hoya vs. Ricky Hatton fight? That would be very intriguing as the two still have a commanding following. Because of their losses to the same man, people will be intrigued as to who will be better between the two. I wonder why such was never made in the first place?

Pubs and Beer:

When Ricky fights, everybody goes to the pubs and enjoy the company of friends and family while watching The Hitman destroy his opponents. Beer flows and food such as fish and chips gets ordered again and again almost unceasingly. The drinking begins way before the fight does. The night before the fight, people begin to gather. Even as soon as the announcement of the fight is made, people head on over to the pubs to talk about the chances of their fighter. For weeks it will be the topic of discussion and over barrels of beer, the future fight will be dissected again and again. Every possibility will be considered every factor will be included and the pubs enjoy good business as the people talk their heads off about the fight. Everything of course, explodes just before the fight. Everybody will be drinking and eating at the same time. When he wins, the celebration would last overnight and would go on for days. The people would again criticize every moment of the fight and every punch that has been thrown. This just goes to show how much business a Hatton fight drives in.

When he loses, there would still be drinking but it would not be as long and people would not stay very long. The thing is after the Pacquiao fight, he may be hanging his gloves permanently. There is no Fighter in the horizon that has the same charisma as Ricky and it would still be very long before a Superfight of the magnitude of the Pacquiao fight could happen. The pubs will still be open. The pubs will still serve beer. But the joyful crowd anticipating or celebrating Ricky would not be there anymore.

Ricky Hatton is a legend in British sports. It is amazing how much he has accomplished at a young age of 30 years old. His countrymen love him to bits because he fights with all his heart and with all he’s got all of the time. He is a working class hero and he has fallen during a time when people need a working class hero to at least make them happy and smile for a little while. As we can see, Hatton is great for a lot of British business. If he retires, it will send shockwaves across England and I honestly do not think that people has considered this effect of his on the economy. People see that he will be missed as a fighter but they do not realize, at least not yet, how much he means to businesses both big and small across England. One day, and it may be soon, pubs would be wondering why they’re no longer selling as much as they used to. Airlines would report a significant slide in passengers. They may realize it by then, that it was the Ricky Factor they’re missing. Clearly, "There’s only One Ricky Hatton"