By Gareth A Davies, Telegraph.co.uk
Roach claimed Hatton requested his services as a trainer late last year, but the American, feted for his work with world pound-for-pound No 1 Manny Pacquiao and 27 world champions, refused.
Roach said he was uneasy about taking on the role. "I've just asked one of my fighters Gerry Penalosa, to retire. You can't lie to your fighters. When I was over in England last December with Amir, Ricky Hatton wanted me to work with him, and wondered if we could get together.
"If he wanted to fight Amir Khan, that's one thing. But I couldn't train Ricky. I said I think he should retire. He's washed up."
Roach was referring to the knockout Hatton suffered at the hands of Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden, Las Vegas, in May 2009.
"If he continues fighting, he's [Ricky] going to jeopardise his health. I would not want to be a part of that," said Roach, who has Parkinson's Syndrome himself.
"If he decides to fight Amir Khan, that's up to him. He's been a multi-world champion, he'll go down in history for some of his great victories, and the thousands of British fans who followed him to America, he's been there and done it, and he doesn't need to do it any more."
Roach added: "I like Ricky Hatton. He is one of boxing's good guys. But this is a hard, hard sport to quit when you have been at the top. But as a trainer, you've got to tell fighters the truth."
Source: telegraph.co.uk
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