By Mark Vester
It appears that Oscar De La Hoya helped Ricky Hatton with his training for the Las Vegas showdown with WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., scheduled to take place on Dec. 8 on HBO pay-per-view. Hatton told The Evening Standard that De La Hoya recommended which sparring partners to use for Mayweather.
"Oscar has probably more contacts than anyone in boxing, and he recommended me to use the sparring partners he had when he boxed Mayweather. They've been brilliant. I sparred with them for three weeks in England and now they're here with me this week. I know Oscar is behind me," Hatton said. "Mayweather disrespected him before their fight, but then he disrespects everyone. After you've shared a ring with someone,respect is usually mutual and maybe that will be the case after I fight Mayweather. But I don't know . . ."
Am I the only person to see a conflict of interest here? De La Hoya, the head promoter of the event, who publicly voiced his desire to see Hatton win - so the two can fight in 2008, has even helped Hatton with his training camp. Mayweather appears to be in a battle of 2 against 1.
Hatton, already training in Las Vegas, told the paper that he's ready to go to war with Mayweather in two weeks and he's not only confident of winning, he feels that he can stop the undefeated champion.
"We couldn't be from more different walks of life," said Hatton. "I am probably up for this fight more than I have been for any fight before, for the obvious reasons. I have so much fire in my belly, I feel I might explode. Yet for all Mayweather has slagged me off, I learned long ago the need to work with tunnel vision. I just put my blinkers on — and do what I need to do to be at my best on the night."
"I don't look at the man, or the belts he has got, or the fights he has won. I look at him as a fighter, I look at his style and assess whether I have what it takes to beat him. I believe I can not only beat Mayweather, but I can stop him."
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