by Ryan Burton

Former two division champion Ricky Hatton has been in the news lately.  An article that was recently published by BoxingScene.com states that Hatton has been back in the gym and may be interested in a comeback. Recent photos of the Brit show that he has lost a considerable amount of weight. According to the article, WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi is rumored to be on the top of Hatton's wish list.

I recently spoke to the Magic Man to gauge his interest in the fight.  "I am trying to find out if the rumors are true.  If they are then of course I am interested.  It is always nice to be able to go back and avenge your losses."

Hatton and Malignaggi first squared off in November 2008 with Hatton winning via 11th round knockout.  Malignaggi has four losses on his resume and on numerous occasions has said that the Hatton loss bothers him the most.  The New Yorker switched trainers after the Hatton defeat and feels that he can extract revenge with the current team he has assembled.

"There is just no way Ricky Hatton can beat me. I say that respectfully.  He did his thing.  He was an iconic figure in boxing but I eat those styles up.  If you watched me the entire 2008 you will see it was sub par.  It wasn't just the Hatton fight. It was an inner (team) problem that I should have fixed a long time before that but I didn't," Malignaggi told BoxingScene.

Malignaggi finished our conversation with a proposal for Hatton. 

"I would love to fight Hatton on October 20th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. After that I will give him the third fight in the UK to settle the trilogy."

Send questions or comments to ringsidewriter@gmail.com Follow Ryan on Twitter @ringsidewriter and tune in to The Boxing Lab, BoxingScene's official audio on Tuesdays. The show is hosted by Ernie Gabion, Luis Sandoval and Ryan Burton