I hope so. Although one big difference stands out: Mosely is past his prime and hasn't been in the ring much in the last few years.

Cotto is the young blood with a great future ahead of him, he's finally getting a few big names on his CV, which had previously hurt his credability (something Hatton has had to deal with), and looks to be getting bigger and stronger with maturity. He'll probably go on to be a multiple weight world champion.

Cotto reminds me a bit of the great Roberto Duran..
For us UK chaps next Saturday is going to be a great night for fights
Amir Khan vs Graham Earl on ITV at about 10pm.
Definitely Khans toughest task so far and don't be surprised if Earl does him over
Then Jamie Moore fights for the European title (to my shame i forget who he is fighting) but this will be a good scrap also,Moore is a nice guy and an under-rated boxer.Anyone see his scrap with Matthew Macklin last year?
Classic!
This one is on normal Sky Sports i believe...
Then over to the US for the big one...but before then on the undercard,Jeff Lacy vs Peter Manfredo. 2 of Calzaghes recent victims. Does Lacy have anything left? Manfredo has something,his fight with Joe was a premature stoppage i think!
Intriguing match this!
Then onto Ricky beating the shit out of Floyd ..and then i can go to bed

Crikey i love boxing

I rarely watch boxing, but every once in a while a fight comes along that gets me interested again. I honestly didn't know who Ricky Hatton was until a couple of days ago when I heard an interview on one of the local sports talk radio stations. I am already a fan of his just because he sounded so intelligent and like-able. Just going by his voice I pictured him in a sweater vest, knitted by his grandmother, and smoking his pipe with a monacle about to start reading classic literature on the radio.

Does anyone know how to watch the fight in the U.S.? Is it Pay-Per-View only?

He always takes his monocle out before a fight...
Can be dangerous in the ring

I think its £14.95 for pay-per-view in UK, they normally show aroung 5-6 fights before the main fight.

Dead right DN :cool
I have already purchased my package and will be sitting up through the night

Today's Wall Street Journal has a good article on the resurgence of boxing in Europe, with focus on Hatton/Mayweather. Good quotes from both fighters. Writer gives the impression that Mayweather's the fave because he has a long record of making opponents not use their left jab. But I still think Floyd has never been up against anyone like Hatton.
Heaven only knows what US pay-per-view will want for this event. But I'm pretty sure HBO will have it a week later.

I have a couple of friends, who usually break down and buy it the day of the fight. I then bring a case of beer or a few pizzas and watch the fight there. I've seen Mayweather several times and he's always impressive. I thought he clearly won the fight against Oscar de la Hoya, and was surprised by the split decision. I've only seen bits of Hatton, and he intrigues me.

Not long till Hatton ko's that prick mayweather


Come on Ricky!!!!!!!

i think they had to be pulled apart yesterday,mayweather thinks he a gangster or something, i hope he loses.

Mayweathers a proper cock,i like to see confident fighters but this guys way to over the top,i just hope Hatton ko's him ive paid for the fight today £14.95 like you said De Niro

hopefully,ive not got sky

Go to mates who's got it

my dads paying for it,but its on 4.30 in morning,F that,im not really a boxing fan anyway to be honest

not much point in stopping up then is there?

i hate all the build up to it,takes hours,and it could be over in 2,3 rounds, i dout it though..this ones going all the way

Amir Kahn fighting as well,so im looking forward to that also

he a special talent that man.

reminds me of Nassem Hamhed only not as cocky,ive seen kahn fight,the guys awesome and he's getting better

Floyd Mayweather must have wondered if he was at the correct venue. The sign above the door said the MGM Grand. Inside, the Las Vegas branch of the Ricky Hatton supporters' club were rattling through a chorus of the Hatton family anthem, Blue Moon. It might have been Hatton's local in Hyde.

As the song has it, Pretty Boy Floyd was standing alone without a love of his own as he entered the Strip's rapidly expanding British quarter. The bookies' favourite Mayweather may be, but on the casino floor Hatton is King.


Fans' favourite: Las Vegas has taken to Britain's Ricky Hatton
That standard prop of global celebrity, the mobile phone, was put to rapid use as Mayweather stepped from the passenger seat of his sober Mercedes. A team of minders piled dutifully out of the obligatory SUV at the rear, creating the illusion of necessity, but the lack of fanfare was an early sign that the 'fight of the century' might not pass as planned.

Once through the doors chants of 'who are you?' drowned out the public address. Mayweather tried to rally with an adaptation of the terrace chant "there's only one May-weather". In doing so he revealed at least one weakness; he can't sing. Round one to the Hitman.

Delusion is the lubricant that oils the Vegas machine. A thousand dreams a second disappear down the throats of avaricious slot machines as blue collar America pursues ad infinitum its hopeless get-rich-quick schemes. As good a fighter as he is, Mayweather's hold on reality appears no more convincing than the gambler's.

What was demonstrably a partisan gathering of British stock come to pay homage to one of their own came out the other end of flawless Floyd's mental prism very differently. He claimed that everyone had come to see him and the fantasy continued as he made his way from the lobby to the boxing arena.



A wall of hotel security staff threw themselves across the thoroughfare to protect Mayweather from unwanted attention. Apart from his eager retinue and accredited media, there was no attention. Hatton-mania aside, Vegas was still in bed, sleeping off the night before. The passage was deserted.

Hubris comes as standard with the Mayweather model. If Hatton is lucky, the Mayweathers might consent to a sparring role for him after the fight. "He ain't got no jab, no head movement. He would not be in the America top 100 if he fought over here," uncle Roger said. "This is going to be a car wreck, a blood bath."

Tracing a finger across the lower lids of both eyes and the bridge of his nose, uncle Roger added: "He going to cut here, here and here. He's going to need more than plastic surgery."

The Hatton response is humour. Serving punters in The Vault, the Hatton family pub on the east Manchester housing estate of Hattersley, was training of a sort, according to Hatton Snr, Ray, who claimed Richard's (always Richard) skills are inherited from his mother.

In the manner of a comedian at the Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club, Ray rolled out the repartee: "Blokes were always leaning over the bar saying, 'oh Carol, what I could do for you', to which she would answer, 'I want the ship not the wreck'.

"Once, I saw this bloke come flying across the table. Out of the corner of my eye I saw this bracelet flashing. I knew it was Carol's. Afterwards I asked her, 'it was you who hit him weren't it?' She said she thought he was coming for me from behind. I know where Richard gets it from."

Apart from his clichéd arrival in a black cab - every Englishman hails from London in the American imagination - Richard's choreography was foot perfect. The welcome as he took to the temporary stage will have re-inforced the belief that something special awaits when Saturday comes. "I want to thank all my fans from Manchester, from England, from the United States. On December 8 come and watch me take that belt from this clown," Hatton said, releasing another wall of noisy approval across the lobby.


Hatton believes he will win this fight. The conviction is honestly felt. And not only by Hatton. The Golden Boy himself, Oscar De La Hoya, who is both promoter and prospective opponent, is the latest to throw critical mass behind the Mancunian challenge.

"I've been in with Mayweather. It was like a sparring session. He doesn't come to fight. If I had not made the running, there would have been no fight. Absolutely Ricky can win." De La Hoya conveniently overlooked the two right hands that stiffened his legs and Mayweather's resolve. A younger De La Hoya would have been a different proposition. Hatton, so obviously at his peak, will be.


40,000 English fans to be in Vegas,makes you proud to be English

It will be like a football game with all the chanting,the Yanks won't know what hit them..

They wont know whats happning,theres no other fans in the world like the English when we get going,ive just read the MGM has had to order more beer as the 20 thousand English that are already there are drinking them dry

How much does the arena hold?

Im not sure but i know alot of the English fans havent got tickets

I think the more relevant inquiry is how much beer do their bladders hold?

Nothing against Hatton, but I have to root for Floyd.

That goes without saying Kyl

"There's only one Ricky Hatton
One Ricky Hatton
Walking along,
singing a song,
Walking in a Hatton Wonderland".

There will be a few verses of this belted out over the weekend no doubt

Can't wait for this. I'm not watching it. Unless I can find a live stream on the 'Net.

Come on Ricky.

Prior to the Beatles, most of us Yanks thought that "Liverpool" was a digestive.