In what will probably be the smartest decision he’s ever made, Ricky Hatton turned down a big money fight against Oscar De La Hoya this September.

“It would be too soon; Richard only fought two weeks ago,” Ray Hatton, the boxing champion’s father and manager, told British Broadcasting Corp. Sport. “Oscar likes to fight in September because of Mexican Independence Day, but Richard is chilling out at the moment.”

It has absolutely NOTHING to do with the date of the fight and everything to do with the fact that Oscar De La Hoya is just too big and talented for Ricky. Hatton’s fight with Floyd Mayweather was a clear signal that the welterweight division is just too much, and Ricky needed to move back down to the 141 pound range.

If you want to be completely truthful, Oscar was too big for Floyd also, but Mayweather is such an elite athlete he was able to skill himself to a win. The real question in this entire matter is, how will Ricky Hatton have a successful career if he can’t fight any true welterweights?

The welterweight division is where all the big money fights are, but Cotto, Williams, Margarito, Mosley, and Cintron are just too big for Ricky to take on. Where do you see him taking his career from this point on?