By Mark Vester
In a recent interview with BoxingScene.com's Terry Dooley, Ricky Hatton gave his thoughts on a possible grudge bout with WBC junior welterweight champion Junior Witter. For years, Witter has taunted Hatton through the media, trying to lure him into a bout. In repsonse, Hatton has refused to fight Witter on several occassions, stating that Witter's big mouth cost him the fight. Recently, Hatton has given the bout some hope of actually taking place down the line.
“No I'm not really thinking about him (Witter). You can never say never but he is not really in our plans. I have an ambition to fight at MSG and Witter is not in that frame. No one can argue with what I've done. I'm not saying I'll never fight him but he is not on the radar at the minute," Hatton said. “I'd love to knock him out and think I would. Witter is fighting well at the minute. He looks good but I'm not in the business of giving a big check and a profile to someone who has been slagging me off for years.”
Hatton makes his return on May 24 in his hometown of Manchester. The opponent has not been set, but he gives Dooley the possible candidates.
“(Ricardo) Torres, Kendall Holt who recently had a good win over Ben Tackie, another one is (Juan) Lazcano. These are all ranked light-welterweights looking for a chance so it is a case of getting the date and venue finalised. There is no point announcing an opponent until we've got those details sorted-out. I'm just excited about fighting (again) and don't have a preference about who I fight. I just want it to be signed," Hatton said.
“(Paulie) Malignaggi is a strong possibility as well. He struggled against Ngoudjo but everyone can have a bad night. I had them against Vilches and Pedersen and you would never give me a prayer with Kostya Tszyu after those fights. Paulie can fight. He is one name in the pipeline (further down the line) as well."
Send News Tips and Comments To Mark Vester @ boxingscene@hotmail.com
