By Rick Reeno

After the three round destruction of Sharmba Mitchell, the big question on the minds of most Boxing fans is who will Kostya Tszyu face in his next fight. There are many conflicting opinions of who Tszyu should face next. Some fans want to see him face Arturo Gatti, some want him to face Floyd Mayweather Jr. and some even want him to move up and challenge welterweight king Cory Spinks.

As of right now, the man who is the front runner in the Kostya Tszyu sweepstakes is none other then Britain's undefeated welterweight Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton". Preliminary discussions have already taken place between the camps of Tszyu and Hatton and both camps seem to be very positive about the fight taking place sometime next year.

Ricky Hatton told the UK press that he is willing to give Kostya Tszyu the home court advantage in order to make the fight happen.

"I will travel to fight Kostya. It's what I've wanted all along - to top the bill in a world title fight at somewhere such as Las Vegas or Madison Square Garden, New York." said Hatton

“His win over Mitchell was absolutely fantastic. I have been watching videos of him for years. To be No 1 you have to beat the No 1; Tszyu is one of the all-time greats, so it would be an incredible scalp.”

Tszyu made a purse of $1.3 million for the Mitchell rematch. After the they tally up all the TV revenue deals, the figure will probably be around $5.5 million. As reported here several weeks ago,  promoter Murad Muhammad has already offered Tszyu a $5.5 million dollar purse for his next fight. If you include all the side revenue, Tszyu could stand to make nearly $10 million in his next fight.

While most want to see Tszyu fight Floyd Mayweather, Arturo Gatti or Miguel Cotto, making those fights a reality will be very difficult. Tszyu is exclusive to Showtime and Mayweather, Gatti and Cotto are under contract with HBO. At this point, the easiest "big" fight for Tszyu to make would be against Hatton and it appears that his camp is leaning towards that road.