Ricky Hatton said Saturday’s fight with World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr was potentially the most significant bout ever contested by a British boxer.
LAS VEGAS: Ricky Hatton said Saturday’s fight with World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr was potentially the most significant bout ever contested by a British boxer.
“It’s the biggest fight Britain has ever been involved in, if I win,” he told reporters on Thursday.
“We’ve had a lot of world champions but maybe not too many that could say they were the best fighter pound-for-pound in boxing at the time. So it’s absolutely massive.”
Mayweather, who has a 38-0 win-loss record, is widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Hatton, however, believes his high-tempo pressing style is ideally suited to defeat the American.
“Me forcing it is going to enable me to win,” he said. “Deny him the time and space to go through his bag of tricks. He’s got so much up his sleeve.”
Mayweather laughed off the suggestion that Hatton’s pressing could prove decisive.
“They all say that, right?,” said the champion. “They all say they’re going to bring pressure. I’ll tell you all afterwards. This guy has a big weakness.” Mayweather said he had seen ‘signs of nervousness’ in Hatton leading up to the bout.
The Englishman countered by saying he was ‘a little bit more fired up than normal because of what’s on the line.
“You’ve got to get fired up but it’s all in check.” The 16,800-seat MGM Grand Garden Arena sold out within 30 minutes of tickets being made available and Internet resale sites are offering ringside seats for almost $13,000.
An estimated total of 10,000 fans are expected to make the journey from Britain to watch the fight at the arena or at one of several closed-circuit venues along the Las Vegas strip.
A large crowd of Hatton supporters gathered outside the media centre at the MGM Grand on Wednesday, singing and chanting throughout the final pre-fight news conference.
The conference ended with the boxers shoving each other and exchanging insults as their respective camps struggled to separate them.
Floyd Mayweather
. WBC welterweight champion.
. Nicknamed ‘Pretty Boy’ because he used to come out of his amateur fights without a scratch on his face.
. Holds a record of 38 wins in as many fights with 24 knockouts and 14 won on judges’ decisions.
. Mayweather has won six world boxing titles in five different classes.
. Since July 2005, magazine The Ring has rated Mayweather as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the World.
. Mayweather Sr, his father and trainer, was a boxer, while his uncle Jeff was an IBO Welterweight champion.
Ricky Hatton
. IBO world light welterweight champion.
. Nicknamed ‘The Hitman’ at age eight for no other reason than the ferocity he brought into the ring each time.
. Holds record of 43 fights and 43 wins, 31 by knockout and 11 by decisions, with one disqualification.
. Hatton has won eight world titles in light welterweight and welterweight.
. His father and grandfather played football for Manchester City, and even he had a trial there before opting for boxing.
. Hatton’s relentless style may present a problem for Mayweather, but his main weakness is a tendency to cut under eyes.
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