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Ricky Hatton lined up for Wembley showdown
By Derick Allsop
Last Updated: 1:38am BST 30/09/2007
Ricky Hatton will come back home to fight Oscar De la Hoya if he beats Floyd Mayweather Jr in Las Vegas and becomes boxing's undisputed No 1 on Dec 8.
De la Hoya is promoting the multi-million dollar Mayweather-Hatton clash for the World Boxing Council welterweight title and admits he wants the Mancunian to prevail. That would pave the way for De la Hoya, beaten by Mayweather in his last contest, to take on the new "pound for pound best in the world" and realise his dream of putting on the ultimate spectacle in this country.
De la Hoya is exploring the possibility of staging the fight at Wembley early next summer. Hatton's trainer, Billy Graham, said: "I'm sure that if Ricky beats Mayweather, the fight with De la Hoya will happen. That's what Oscar is looking for and he's already told us he wants to fight in England.
"A fight at Wembley would be the perfect way for Ricky to say farewell to his British fans and a fairytale end to his career. He would have nothing left to prove after that."
Hatton has been confident of winning the battle of the undefeated champions since the date was fixed. He clearly won the psychological war on the promotional tour and is working off the usual excess weight to get down to 147lbs.
"Mayweather can't get to me outside the ring and I won't let him get to me in the ring," Hatton said. "He talks a lot but says nothing."
By Derick Allsop
Last Updated: 1:38am BST 30/09/2007
Ricky Hatton will come back home to fight Oscar De la Hoya if he beats Floyd Mayweather Jr in Las Vegas and becomes boxing's undisputed No 1 on Dec 8.
De la Hoya is promoting the multi-million dollar Mayweather-Hatton clash for the World Boxing Council welterweight title and admits he wants the Mancunian to prevail. That would pave the way for De la Hoya, beaten by Mayweather in his last contest, to take on the new "pound for pound best in the world" and realise his dream of putting on the ultimate spectacle in this country.
De la Hoya is exploring the possibility of staging the fight at Wembley early next summer. Hatton's trainer, Billy Graham, said: "I'm sure that if Ricky beats Mayweather, the fight with De la Hoya will happen. That's what Oscar is looking for and he's already told us he wants to fight in England.
"A fight at Wembley would be the perfect way for Ricky to say farewell to his British fans and a fairytale end to his career. He would have nothing left to prove after that."
Hatton has been confident of winning the battle of the undefeated champions since the date was fixed. He clearly won the psychological war on the promotional tour and is working off the usual excess weight to get down to 147lbs.
"Mayweather can't get to me outside the ring and I won't let him get to me in the ring," Hatton said. "He talks a lot but says nothing."
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