By Terence Dooley
Manchester’s Matthew Hatton has secured the home advantage for his IBO welterweight showdown with South Africa’s Lovemore N’Dou on November the 13th. The younger Hatton believes that this fight will finally see him emerge from Ricky’s shadow.
Matthew, 28, does not know where the fight will be staged but he has told The Manchester Evening News that he is ready to add N’Dou’s scalp to his resume.
“We are looking at a few different venues but it will definitely be local,” confirmed Hatton. “My team have done a really good job to secure it over here and give me home advantage.”
N’Dou is 31, he has the clear edge in experience; however, Matthew believes that his time is about to come. A proposed fight with Zab Judah fell through recently when Zab tried to force Matthew to move down to the 140-pound limit.
The N’Dou fight was not without its problems, either - the South African’s team wanted options on Matthew should he win. They also wanted Matt to travel to South Africa for his title chance; the switch in location has given Hatton’s preparations a huge boost.
Hatton is currently ranked at 52 in the IBO rankings; N’Dou sits in 25th place; this fight will go a long way to legitimizing the IBO strap, the winner may soon find himself sitting pretty in the top twenty.
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