However, his career at the top level ended three years earlier when he was brutally knocked out inside two rounds by Manny Pacquaio at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
In 2007, he suffered a tenth-round stoppage defeat – the first of his career – when he squared off against five-weight world champion Floyd Mayweather.
Mayweather and Pacquiao are regarded by many as two of the best boxers of all time, so many assumed one of them will have given Hatton his toughest night at the office.
The British fight icon claims that, despite the devastating nature of his first two losses, his hardest test actually came when he jumped up to welterweight and became a two-weight titleholder by outpointing Collazo.
That was my toughest fight,” Hatton told talkSPORT’s Jim White and Simon Jordan about his 12-round battle with Collazo for the WBA 147lb title in May 2006.
“I mean, getting beat by Pacquiao like I did was very tough to come to terms with and Floyd Mayweather was just technically so good.
“From a physical point of view [Collazo was tougher]. I never made fights easy for myself. I was always going to have it out with someone.”
Hatton believes the fact he jumped up a division played a huge role in him having such a hard night against Collazo despite scoring an early knockdown.
“So, to move up to welterweight… Billy Graham, my trainer, said, ‘No, don’t do it, Rick. Don’t do it.’ But I wanted to do what my heroes had done. I wanted to try to become a world champion in two weight divisions.
I took it, and I knocked him down in the first ten seconds. I thought, ‘I’ll be in the bar in half an hour at this rate.’ But he got up and I won it on a unanimous decision, but only by one point.
“I think it was only the knockdown that won it. The people that I could bully at 10 stone. When I got close, I could push them, shove them all.
“I couldn’t do it at 10st 7lbs. I hit him, and the shots just bounced off him. I went to shove him back and he didn’t move. I thought, ‘Oh this is going to be a long night.’”
The glory of becoming a two-weight champion came at a cost for Hatton who still remembers how bad he felt after sharing a ring with Collazo for 36 minutes.
“It was the worst after I’ve felt. I had hot sweats, shaky, shivering and I couldn’t even go to the afterparty I was in such a bad way,” he said.
“Every time he hit me – Floyd Mayweather wasn’t a big puncher, he was technically unreal – but [Collazo] was a big punching southpaw, and every time he hit me, oh my lord!”
Hatton was one of Manchester’s finest and following his Las Vegas defeat to Pacquiao, the Briton got a final homecoming fight.
He fought Vyacheslav Senchenko in his final bow, which ended in disaster at the Manchester Arena as he was stopped in front of the raucous crowd.
But nonetheless he went down in boxing royalty, and he wasn’t done there as he returned in a more successful exhibition in November 2022.
He fought in an eight-rounder with Marco Antonio Barerra with the bout unscored, but ruled out any future return despite looking impressively fit.
Mayweather had a hugely impressive boxing career retiring as a 50-0 professional, having fought in the sport’s biggest modern-era events
He fought Conor McGregor in his own curtain-closer in 2017, but has since fought in a series of money-spinning exhibitions himself including against Deji and Logan Paul.
Money’ has also been linked with a rematch with Pacquiao, who he himself fought and beat in the ‘Fight of The Century’ on May 15, but it has never materialised.
Pacquiao retired in 2021 after losing to Yordenis Ugas, to focus on his political career in the Phillipines.
But he is now searching for a full comeback fight after competing in an exhibition against Korean YouTuber DK Yoo.
He is exploring a remarkable world title shot aged 45 against Mario Barrios at 147lbs, which would be a simply incredble final hoorah.
Collazo was only young in 2006 when he fought Hatton, and went on to fight some of the sport’s best.
