Unexpected friendships sometimes happen between boxers from vastly different ethnic background, such as Larry Holmes and Roberto Duran. Sultan Ibragimov and Mike Tyson. Mikkel Kessler and Carlos Famous Hernandez is another unlikely pairing of amigos.
When interviewing Alfred Angulo this past February in Sunrise, FL, I also learned that the mighty Mexican has become good friends with Ricky Hatton.
“Ricky used to tell me after the workouts, I was very hard to hit and he couldn’t find openings,” said Angulo. “I said I worked really hard to take care of those spots.”
As you might expect, training camp with the Manchester Hitman is not exactly all work and no play. “It (camp with Hatton) was one of the training camps where I had the most fun working with Ricky. I went to camps with Roy Jones for a whole camp – for four weeks, I went with Margarito, Carlos Baldomir. Ricky Hatton was the best. We have a lot in common. We don’t consider ourselves superstars. We’re very normal people to hang around with instead of acting like you’re a superstar.”
“Other fighters – we do the work, then everything else is separate. They consider you nothing or whatever. Ricky’s totally different. As if you were one of his friends. He’s just a good friend and a nice person. I got to know him really good.”
“I consider Ricky like the classical Mexican fighter from England – he likes to work the body a lot.”
Angulo thought Hatton could possibly upset Manny Pacquiao in the super fight in Las Vegas last week but admits that the Filipino Destroyer was just “Too strong and too smart.”
Unbeaten 26-year-old Angulo (15-0, 12 KO’s) will take on Kermit Cintron later this month, in an important fight which the winner could earn a world title shot later this year. Of Cintron, Angulo says, “Kermit Cintron is a fighter with a lot of experience. Like always, I’m gonna try and press him and get results as soon as possible.”
