You have to admire the cojones shown by Ricky Hatton - he really is a warrior. Thirty years old, 46 fights - the last ten of them real battles - an estimated 20 million pounds in the bank, the love of his fellow Mancunians, and yet - he still fancies a crack at the three boxers on the planet rated 1, 2 and three in the pound for pound list.
Some appetite for the fray.
He faces the first of them - Manny Pacquiao - on May 2 in Las Vegas, and if successful, for which many believe there is a growing body of support, Hatton intends then to go after Juan Manuel Marquez, who can think, fight, box and brawl at the same time, and then Hatton's nemesis in 2007, Floyd Mayweather Jnr.
If it comes off, with one of those two fights at Wembley in front of 100,000 spectators, Hatton will have earned more than any other British fighter in history, including Lennox Lewis, who earned an estimated 40 million pounds from his fistic career dominating the heavyweight division.
Those two fights with Marquez and Mayweather Jnr could earn Hatton - along with the Pacquiao deal - an estimated £50 million. But he must first prove successful against Pacquiao, which I believe will be an extremely tough assignment, unless Hatton can make his power shots tell.
There is something about the assuredness of Freddie Roach in advance of this contest which is a tad worrying. Roach appears to have an inner confidence about the moment when the two men exchange in the square ring.
I'm on my way to Hatton's training camp at Ashton Under Lyme in Manchester, where the boxer will host the British media before he prepares to undergo final training in Las Vegas. I'm intrigued to see his workout and whether he is now down to 152-156 lbs...
Source: telegraph.co.uk
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