Hatton Arrives In Vegas!

Ricky Hatton pushed his own trolley past the slot machines that wait to ambush impatient gamblers at McCarran International Airport, cleared customs and walked almost unnoticed into the United States. In the arrivals hall, just two television crews had come to meet Hatton and his small entourage. Both had travelled from London. The only American to recognise Hatton, half hidden under a blue, floppy beach hat, was a friend. Keeping it under his hat: Ricky Hatton makes an understated arrival in Las Vegas "Roberto, mi amigo," he said, warmly embracing his now-regular driver on both sides of the Atlantic. After a mountainous collection of luggage had been packed into a white, eight-seat van, Hatton hopped into the front. "I'm sure they told me I was getting a limo!" he said, chuckling. Twenty minutes later, Hatton was at his rented house, a short drive from the neon-lit boulevard of casinos. Yet the 'Hitman's' ambitions in this city built on greed are not those of a reckless gambler, drawn into town in spite of odds tilted in favour of the house. He has rehebottomd all his adult life for the rendezvous he has with Floyd Mayweather Junior, scheduled to last 12 rounds here in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in 13 days. Has a British fighter ever been engaged in a bigger fight in modern times? Twenty-thousand fans are booked to fly here from Britain, with only a quarter of them likely to get tickets in the 16,000 auditorium, in what the promoters are calling 'the biggest British invasion since The Beatles landed in 1964'. Hatton, humbled to be the catalyst of such an exodus, said: "Mayweather is the best fighter walking the face of the earth." Yet, in Hatton's eyes, that is his only enviable quality. For weeks, Hatton has endured from Mayweather and his trainer uncle, Roger, a stream of vile abuse in language rooted in the ghetto. Neither man is a stranger to the local sheriff's department in Clark County. Floyd Mayweather has convictions for assault and domestic violence, while Roger has served a six-month jail sentence for domestic assault, having been banned by boxing authorities from working his nephew's corner after starting a riot during one of his fights almost 18 months ago. Outside of this unsweet family, Floyd Mayweather Senior is estranged from both his son and his brother in a feud of unending bitterness. Just six months ago, he offered to train Oscar de la Hoya for his fight against his own flesh and blood. Mayweather Senior has also seen the inside of a prison cell. After being imprisoned on drug-related offences, he has earnestly fought to rehabilitate himself as a trainer, even though his son has long-since dispensed with him. In vivid contrast, 29-year-old Hatton eagerly anticipates the arrival of his own father, Ray, here next week. "I just couldn't imagine being at war with my dad," he said. "If for some reason — Heaven forbid — I fell out with my dad or something happened to him, I'd hang up my gloves. I can't imagine boxing, or life, without him. "I knew Floyd had differences with his dad and that things were frosty when he chose his uncle to train him for his fight with De La Hoya. Now it seems the relationship is over completely. To my mind, that's a crying shame and something that would be unbearable. "Even after all the abuse, and the disrespect he has shown me, I can't help but feel sorry for Floyd. He never had a childhood, never had time to grow up as he was being taught to fight almost as soon as he could walk." Hatton's sympathy, however, is reserved for the man, not the fighter who stands between him and the fulfilment of a dream. "We couldn't be from more different walks of life," said Hatton. "I am probably up for this fight more than I have been for any fight before, for the obvious reasons. I have so much fire in my belly, I feel I might explode. "Yet for all Mayweather has slagged me off, I learned long ago the need to work with tunnel vision. I just put my blinkers on — and do what I need to do to be at my best on the night." He added: "I don't look at the man, or the belts he has got, or the fights he has won. I look at him as a fighter, I look at his style and assess whether I have what it takes to beat him. I believe I can not only beat Mayweather, but I can stop him." Both men will bring unblemished records into the ring,with Mayweather 38 wins and Hatton 43, furthering the mystique and fury of their encounter that will, for a time, slacken business on the casino floors. Hatton's rented accommodation has been turned into a home away from home, and it is familiar as he stayed here for his last fight in June against Jose Luis Castillo. Pictures of his family are spread around his bedroom. His brother Matthew, who is on the undercard on December 8, is a housemate along with Matthew Macklin, another fighter from trainer Billy 'Preacher' Graham's Phoenix gym in Manchester. Hatton said: "One of my greatest attributes is being able to switch off. It is important now for me to rest as much as possible. We can be at the shops or casinos within a 10-minute drive if we want a change of scenery." The house has two treadmills, or Hatton can go to a neighbourhood baseball park that has a floodlit running track. He prefers to put in his mileage at about 7.30pm. "A lot of boxers like to get their road work done in the early morning, but I think it's more important to be fresh for my gym sessions, so I run at night." On his final, hard training days this week — Monday, Wednesday and Friday — he will run for up to 40 minutes over about five miles, mixing in some sprints. His countdown to defying the bookmakers that have made Mayweather as an odds-on favourite begins tomorrow when he will spar with boxers handpicked by De La Hoya, whose Golden Boy company is promoting the fight under a one-word banner 'Undefeated'. De La Hoya, who lost on points to Mayweather in May in a fight that generated £60 million, is unashamedly in Hatton's corner. Perhaps most of America is, because Mayweather's five world titles at five different weights have failed to endear him to his countrymen. De La Hoya, known as Golden Boy, has said with rancour: "Mayweather Junior needs a humbling experience, he's a brat." Hatton said: "Oscar has probably more contacts than anyone in boxing, and he recommended me to use the sparring partners he had when he boxed Mayweather. "They've been brilliant. I sparred with them for three weeks in England and now they're here with me this week. I know Oscar is behind me. Mayweather disrespected him before their fight, but then he disrespects everyone. After you've shared a ring with someone,respect is usually mutual and maybe that will be the case after I fight Mayweather. But I don't know . . ." He is not holding his breath. His final set-piece training is reserved for Friday, when he will step into the ring with Graham, who will be wearing heavily-padded mits and a body belt, and box for 15 orthodox three-minute rounds. "I'm putting in three extra rounds as insurance. It will be gruelling," he said. Hatton's demeanour is almost ridiculously relaxed. He is revelling in the role of underdog, just as he had on the night Australia's muchacclaimed Kostya Tszyu came to Manchester in 2005 with all but Hatton's closest family and friends fearing an evening of endless punishment lay in prospect for him. Hatton's remorseless assault broke Tszyu — and he surrendered on his stool. "It's not me that says it, but there are those who say my fight with Mayweather is the biggest in British boxing history," said Spears, P Diddy, Mayweather Hatton. "But I like the fact that I will come into the ring without a belt, as the challenger. No, I'm not arguing with the odds. Mayweather has won five world titles at five weights and you have to give credit where credit's due. "Yes, I love being the underdog — and I don't want anyone to predict in the papers that I am going to win. I want to shock the world, just as I did when I beat Tszyu." Hatton does not for a moment suspect that Mayweather will have taken any short cuts in his own gym, buried in the middle of Chinatown in a nondescript row of storage warehouses within a 10- minute drive of the MGM Grand Garden Arena. "You only get to the top of the tree by dedicating yourself, and Mayweather's done that," said Hatton. Yet Hatton senses Mayweather could have fallen into a trap when analysing the British fighter. "I don't think Mayweather realises I'm as good as I am," said Hatton. "He just sees the obvious: strong kid with a big heart who keeps coming forward. But there's a lot more to me than that, as he will find out." David Beckham will be among those at ringside cheering for Hatton. "I've exchanged texts with Becks since England were knocked out of the European Championship on Wednesday," said Hatton. "He was obviously devastated and I was gutted. But life goes on, and he will be here for the fight." Hatton, a lifelong supporter of Manchester City, has the rare gift of being able to bridge the traditional prejudices that divide the fans of Manchester's two Premier League clubs. At his last fight, his friend Wayne Rooney carried his belt into the ring. United fans probably also warm to the self-deprecating humour that Hatton sprinkles his repertoire on the after-dinner speaking circuit. Take this example: Sven Goran Eriksson says this year we'll make it into Europe . . . and he doesn't care if he has to sing the ****ing song himself.