By Terence Dooley
Although promoter Frank Warren has poured cold water scepticism over the comeback hopes of Ricky Hatton the Mancunian boxer has an ally in Amir Khan, who has told Sporting Life that Hatton can make it back to the top of the boxing ladder.
“I don't blame him (Hatton) because after a defeat like that you want to come back and prove to his fans how good you are,” stated Amir.
“We all rate Ricky Hatton, he is a great fighter. Perhaps he took that extra step fighting Manny Pacquiao. That's boxing - one punch can win a fight. But what happened to me against Prescott didn't make Prescott a better fighter than me. It was a little mistake I made and perhaps he feels like he made that mistake and he wants to correct it by coming back and showing he's not finished.
“I think he should come back and not walk out on his career with a defeat. It is going to be hard mentally as you're only as good as your last fight and that will be running through his mind. But I'm sure he can learn from what I went through, getting the defeat and then within a few fights coming back and being the world champion. I'm sure he can do the same. I have a lot of respect for him in that way he is not ducking anything and hopefully if he takes this guy out he'll be in with a chance for another big fight.”
However, Amir, 22, is not being too altruistic, the Bolton boxer, who defends his WBA light-welterweight crown against Dmitriy Salita in Newcastle on December the 5th, still hankers after a possible showdown with Ricky.
“I will leave it to the promoters, but it is a fight that could happen in the future with the likes of Manny Pacquiao, the likes of Ricky Hatton,” said Khan.
“We are at the same weight. You have got Manny, Marquez, Mayweather, myself, Ricky Hatton it is an exciting weight. People want to see us fight each other and having two British fighters (facing each other) here, it would be a huge fight, an explosive fight. People always want to see that the young lion going to take the old lion out. It's all about timing, picking the right opponent, but we'll see what happens.
“The same with Manny Pacquiao the fight might happen, even though we are training partners. You never know in this sport. As an amateur we used to fight people from the same gym, you'd spar with each other and then fight each other in championships. But I am not going to fight anyone at their peak if I am not at mine; there would be no point and it could spoil my whole career.”
However, Amir needs to take care of Salita come the 5th; Dmitriy’s glossy 30-0-1 (16 early) record may yet flatter to deceive. Still, the Brooklyn-based Ukrainian-Jew could upset Khan’s plans if Amir has taken his eye off the ball.
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