Campbell Hatton Trains Alongside Anthony Joshua In Bid To Relaunch Career
Campbell Hatton believes a change in coaching setup is helping prepare him for the next stage of his career as the super-lightweight prospect aims to bounce back from his first professional defeat.
Hatton (14-1-0 5 KO) had hoped to emulate his legendary father Ricky by collecting the British Central Area title in his last fight, but he fell to a unanimous points loss to James Flint at the Sheffield Arena in March.
Soon after the fight, Hatton and his trainer and uncle, Matthew Hatton, decided to end their working relationship.
Hatton has now pitched up at the Ben Davison Performance Centre and is working with Barry Smith, who is credited with reviving Jordan Gill’s career following his knockout defeat to Kiko Martinez in 2022.
Smith guided Gill to a stunning upset victory over Ireland’s Michael Conlon in December last year, setting up a domestic showdown with Zelfa Barrett. A close, exciting fight ultimately went Barrett’s way in a 10th-round stoppage.
‘It’s Gonna Be A New Campbell Hatton’
Just weeks into their partnership, the 23-year-old is already convinced he’s made the right decision to go in this new direction.
“I’m loving it. It’s taking some getting used to but I’m picking things up quickly and starting to get the hang of it,” he told BoxingScene. “Already I’m feeling like I’m settling down into it and picking up the different ways of doing things but I think it’s gonna be a new Campbell Hatton to be honest.
“When you’re knocking about with the type of fighters that I am in the gym every day, you can only improve.”
Those “type of fighters” include two-time heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua and former WBA featherweight world champion Leigh Wood.
Joshua has been with Davison – Tyson Fury’s former coach – since before his impressive stoppage win over Otto Wallin in December last year. So effective was their partnership, the pair continued through to AJ’s destructive second-round knockout of Francis Ngannou in March.
Hatton No Longer The ‘Main Man’
It appears likely Joshua, who after nine years with trainer Rob McCracken has had four different coaches since losing to Oleksandr Usyk a second time in 2022, will stick with Davison for the time being.
Wood, meanwhile, has worked with Davison since 2020 and together they took the English fighter to the WBA featherweight world title, which he successfully defended once. Wood vacated the belt in October last year to step up to 130lbs.
Surrounded by such accomplished world-level fighters represents a change in dynamic for Hatton. In addition to going through an entire remodel of his style and learning new skills, Hatton is no longer the “main man” in the gym, like he was when training with uncle Matthew.
That has caused the Manchester fighter to be more humble than ever, which he says, is making him work harder than ever.
“It’s been great for me,” Hatton said. “When I was at Matthew’s we were working hard and I was improving but I was sort of the main man in the gym at the time. Now, I’m chasing and it means I’ve got to raise my game to try and match the lads that I’m in with so it’ll bring me on tenfold.”
