Hatton: Pacquiao-Mayweather did more harm than good to boxing

Retired two-division world champion Ricky Hatton is one of the many observers who feels that the mega fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather did more harm than good to boxing.

Hatton, a common opponent of both pound-for-pound superstars, cites the lack of action may have turned off far too many fans who expected an exciting affair.

"It was damaging for the sport," Hatton told BBC, referring to Pacquiao-Mayweather.

"I can't imagine there is anyone out there saying they loved it. Considering they're two all-time greats, the money they walked away with, what the fans had to pay, it was all a bit of a letdown. Then when Manny blamed his defeat on a shoulder injury, it soured it even further."

Furthermore, Hatton predicts that the casual fans who tuned in to watch the showdown may never lay their eyes on boxing again after the let down.

"If you'd got up at 5am to watch it in the UK and you hadn't seen a fight in years, you might not bother watching boxing again," said Hatton.

"Boxing has UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) breathing heavily down its neck and it was the first boxing match that had crossed over into the mainstream for a long time, so we needed it to be exceptional. But there were more negatives than positives." - RAF, GMA News