Ricky Hatton did much more than reaffirm his status as the best junior welterweight in the world Saturday with a fourth-round knockout of Jose Luis Castillo. With the help of 10,000 giddy, fellow Englishmen, Hatton became one of four fighters in boxing who have zoomed to a staggering approval rating in this age of supposed decline for the “Sweet Science.” One of four fighters who can rank among the most popular athletes in the world, regardless of sport.
   

One of four superstars who may yet save this reeling game from a years-long rut. Besides the “Hitman,” boxing’s “Fantastic Four” includes the Philippines’ Manny Pacquiao; Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto; and America’s Oscar De La Hoya. All are national heroes. And all have a fierce, loyal, exciting fan base that makes every true-blue boxing fan swell with pride.
    
Wait a minute: Wasn’t boxing supposed to be dead by now – some seven weeks after De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather? Wasn’t UFC supposed to have steamrolled the old game like a street thug mugging a senior citizen - taking its fans, money and prestige, by storm?
    
As it turns out, the more attention UFC gets, the more attention boxing gets. Making outfits such as “Sports Illustrated” – which can’t seem to publish a boxing story without pompously analyzing the state of the game (forecast: always grim) – look more than a little elitist.
     
And ignorant.
     
And boxing – with all its ills – keeps rolling right along.
     
De La Hoya’s fans were on display May 5, when he fought pound-for-pound king Mayweather at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Most of the 16,000-plus on hand were pro-Oscar – screaming wildly whenever the “Golden Boy” connected.
    
Or missed. Or drew a breath.
    
Mayweather may have won the fight (officially at least). But, in terms of popularity and support, it was no contest. Oscar was the man. De La Hoya is easily one of the most popular fighters in boxing history. He has the pay-per-view receipts to prove it.
     
Some boxing purists cringe at the mass of women who make his fights seem like N’Sync concerts. But you can’t deny the numbers. De La Hoya-Mayweather was the highest-grossing boxing match of all-time. And that had little to do with Mayweather, an ultra-annoying type who merely provided the villain character in a script that was written for De La Hoya, and only De La Hoya.
     
A month later, Cotto’s fans provided a raucous backdrop to the Puerto Rican’s showdown with New Yorker Zab Judah at Madison Square Garden. Whether it was the first round, the fifth round, the knockout combination, or the prelim fight, this mad house of fired-up Puerto Ricans was outright crazed.
    
It was the day before the New York Puerto Rican Day parade, and the national pride was bulging through the MSG roof. It was a throwback affair, back to the days when fights were rooted in regional and ethnic interest – something that will always make boxing different than traditional sports.
    
Sure, there were a few fights in the stands. Yeah, there was a boat-load of trash talking and confrontation. But that’s boxing. That’s what makes it unique, and powerful.
    
And alluring.
    
In a word, that crowd of about 18,000 was unbelievable. It was a scene right out of a movie. And when Judah went down, the flag-waving throng erupted.
     
There are a few of us who have covered football, basketball and baseball games, and all kinds of tournaments, from golf to bowling (yes…bowling). None, however, came close to matching the throbbing intensity and energy that exuded from the famous building that night.
      
The only thing that might compete is a soccer game. Which brings us to June 23.
That 10,000 Englishmen would fly halfway around the world to a destination in the middle of a desert, and for an event that lasted, at most, 45 minutes, is astonishing. That they could turn Sin City into Manchester West is also astonishing. Some of us weren’t lucky enough to be there. And the fight didn’t live up to its billing as a potential “Fight of the Year” candidate.
       
But, guess what? Boxing got better, as Hatton proved himself a star.
       
And, Saturday night was as compelling a night of television as any network could hope for. The singing crowd. The blaring horn section. The constant chanting. The movement. The excitement. Those who were there must have been thanking the heavens.
        
It was a special night for the game.
       
And then there’s Pacquiao, whose fans once flooded this writer’s email box with angry (but fair and respectful) responses to an article that implied that “Pac-Man” was done.
       
In the end, some 300 Filipinos replied. And a certain writer was put in his place.
       
It’s no wonder. Anytime Pacquiao fights, it’s a national event in the Philippines. He’s a god there, though his recent run for a political seat may have carved into his popularity a bit.
       
Nothing an exciting knockout won’t cure, however.
       
In the end, it’s nice to know that most of those non-boxing writers weighing in on De La Hoya-Mayweather – some of whom “The Ring” magazine’s Nigel Collins rightly pointed out were too lazy to come up with a legitimate angle of their own – are now off on the tennis and NASCAR beats, where they belong.
       
And boxing – thanks to four guys named De La Hoya, Cotto, Pacquiao and now Hatton – continues to roll right along.

M

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