Hatton & Malignaggi make weight

RICKY HATTON V PAULIE MALIGNAGGI
Venue: MGM Grand, Las Vegas Date: Saturday 22 November
Coverage: Commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live (start time to be confirmed) and live text commentary on BBC Sport website. Live on Sky Sports from 2100 GMT.

By Ben Dirs in Las Vegas

Hatton and Malignaggi both have one professional defeat in their careers

Ricky Hatton and Paulie Malignaggi both looked in tremendous shape as they made the weight for Saturday's light-welterweight contest in Las Vegas.

Manchester's Hatton was bang on the limit at 140lb, while New York's Malignaggi came in one pound lighter.

About 2,500 Hatton fans crammed into the MGM Grand Garden Arena to cheer their hero onto the scales.

And Hatton told them: "Here we go again. I'm going to do you proud, let's have him."

Hatton, 30, has returned to the scene of his only professional defeat to take on Malignaggi, 27, who has also been beaten just once.

'The Hitman' was stopped in 10 rounds by Floyd Mayweather Jr at the MGM Grand last December, but is confident lightning will not strike twice.

"I have no fear of coming back to the scene of the crime," said Hatton, whose record is 44 wins and 33 knockouts from 45 fights.

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"He was the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, possibly of all time, but this training camp has made my confidence go right through the roof and I am not thinking about the Mayweather fight.

"Las Vegas is like home from home now. But I need to be at my best because I'm fighting my nearest rival in my division - and I will be at my best.

"I'm back down at my normal weight and I have never lost at light-welterweight."

Malignaggi, who has 25 wins and five knockouts from 26 fights, said: "This is a crossroads fight for both of us. This fight, belt or no belt, will decide the best light-welterweight in the world.

"He better have improved his defensive abilities, I tell you that, because we're very sharp and feeling very fast. The combinations are working and if he's not slick he's going to get tagged all night."

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While there are certainly fewer Hatton fans in town than for his clash with Mayweather last year, when an estimated 35,000 Brits descended on Vegas, they are making their presence felt.

Many arrived on Thursday and early Friday and "There's only one Ricky Hatton" is already becoming a familiar refrain all along The Strip.

However, there are still tickets available for the fight, which is expected to start at approximately 0430 GMT.

"We expect a crowd of around 12,000 [the MGM Grand Garden Arena holds 15,500] and I would assume half of that would be Brits," said Richard Schaefer, CEO of promoters Golden Boy.

"And we might be surprised, because at the Roy Jones-Joe Calzaghe fight, at the last minute a huge number of Brits showed up, which pushed the attendance to levels you wouldn't have expected a day or so before.

"I don't think Hatton-mania has died down - in boxing there's no-one else like Ricky Hatton.

"What has died down is the economy. Everybody, including Ricky Hatton's fans, is feeling the financial strain."

Hatton is currently a strong favourite with Vegas bookmakers, with odds of 5/13 against Malignaggi's odds of 11/5 at the time of writing.

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