By Terence Dooley
Ricky Hatton has told The Sun that he is willing to step into the ring with Miguel Cotto should the Puerto Rican champion defeat Manny Pacquiau on Saturday night. Hatton, 31, was blasted out in two-rounds by Manny back in May. However, Hatton believes that he showed enough quality during that defeat to make the Cotto showdown a viable option.
“If Cotto wins, I don't see any reason why I wouldn't fancy a fight with him,” claimed Hatton. “I've faced the best pound-for-pound fighters in Floyd Mayweather and Pacquiao, so I've never shied away from a challenge. If Cotto becomes the pound-for-pound king, I don't see any reason why we couldn't fight.”
Hatton, though, feels that Manny could beat Miguel, and the former undisputed light-welterweight champion admitted that he has a lot of respect for ‘The Pacman’.
He said: “I'd like to think Pacquiao will win as I've got a lot of time for him both as a fighter and as a person. But Cotto's strong and powerful and you can't discount him at all. I know Pacquiao knocked me down twice in the first round but I came back and he commented that I hurt him before he caught me. He said I hurt him twice so Cotto's definitely going to do some damage with his power. When you look at it that way, you've to say Cotto is a good bet to win.”
Ricky is now promoting his own shows and he has looked a good bit over his fighting weight during recent public appearances, whatever the future holds the likelihood is that Hatton will ease himself back into the sport with a warm-up fight or two.
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