By Mark Vester
Juan Lazcano is calm and confident ahead of the biggest of his career on Saturday night. Lazcano will step in the ring against Ricky Hatton before 55,000 screaming fans at the City of Manchester Stadium. He knows the crowd will be against him. He knows most experts have listed him as a heavy underdog. He doesn't seem to care.
Lazcano says that he won't fixate on Hatton's December loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr, or whether or not Hatton is the same fighter, he just plans to execute his gameplan to win.
"I believe I've got what it takes to win no matter who I fight - Ricky, Floyd Mayweather or Oscar De La Hoya," added Lazcano. "I've had a great training camp and I'm ready," Lazcano told the Manchester Evening News. "I'm expecting the best Ricky Hatton in the ring on Saturday night. I can't speculate on how he's going to react to defeat, or if he's past his best. I'm ready to get the victory, and that's the bottom line."
Lazcano is coming off a disputed decision loss to Vivian Harris. He aims to prove the critics wrong who say he's a fighter without a hope of winning.
"You weather the storm and you come back a better fighter. First of all you prove the naysayers wrong. Prove you've still got that fight inside you. There are doubts but that is part of the journey," Lazcano said. "I tip my hat to Ricky. He's stepping out so soon after his last fight and I really have to commend him for that. He's not your ordinary fighter. He's proved he's got a lot of 'cojones' to do what he's doing."
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