By Mark Vester

Ricky Hatton has vowed to not end up like "Prince" Naseem Hamed.  During the late 90's until 2001, Hamed was an undefeated superstar in Europe and the United States. He was drawing record crowds in both continents and set the standard for seven-figure paydays in the featherweight division.

Hamed's entire career came crashing down in April of 2001 when he was dominated in a one-sided fight by Marco Antonio Barrera. He took more than a year off, returning in May of 2002 and put on a very ugly performance in winning a twelve-round decision over Manuel Calvo. Following the win over Calvo, Hamed vanished from the ring. He never officially announced his retirement, he just vanished from boxing without notice. He was only 28-years-old.

Over the years, Hamed would announce a comeback, but he would never come back. He was never the same mentally after the loss to Barrera. Hatton suffered the first loss of his career last December when he was stopped by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas. He returns for the first time since the loss on May 24 against Juan Lazcano in Manchester. An incredible crowd of 55,000 is expected to attend Hatton's return bout. He promises that he will not end up like Hamed and crumble after defeat.

"Naz was one of the greatest champions Britain has had," Hatton told Daily Mail. "He won world titles and had that wonderful knockout power. He went to the United States and did well but lost to Barrera, which was no shame because he was one of the best pound-for-pound boxers at the time."

"Naz had his comeback fight which wasn't one of his best and we never saw him again. I don't want the memories of my career to be put on the back burner because people say: 'The minute he got beat he was never the same'."

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