News
 
 

Hatton focused on title defence

Ricky Hatton insists he is fully focused on his first world title defence against WBA light welterweight king Carlos Maussa on Saturday.

And the IBF light welterweight champion, who recently split with promoter Frank Warren, says he will be in the shape of his life in Sheffield.

"Obviously there were one or two upsets outside the ring, which I could have done without," Hatton told BBC Sport.

"But I've had 11 weeks training and I've never performed so well."

Warren claims he still has Hatton tied to a three-fight contract and threatened an injunction to stop Saturday's fight taking place.

He dropped the action last month, although he still plans to sue for breach of contract.

"When [Warren] pulled out of the injunction, it was a weight off my shoulders," said the 27-year-old Hatton.

"But I've never prepared so well - even before the Kostya Tszyu fight [when he won the IBF belt in June].

"Maussa's very unconventional and difficult to read. He's a little bit like a puppet on a string, you're not sure which way he's going to move.

"He's also heavy-handed, he's got a good chin and throws a lot of punches. But I've shown in the past I'm a versatile fighter.

"If I want to fight up close, I can do. If I want to fight at a distance, I can do. And you need all those things in your armoury when you're fighting someone like Maussa."

Maussa, 34, won the WBA belt with a shock win over Vivian Harris in June, just three weeks after Hatton wrested the IBF belt from Tszyu.
Courtesy BBC


Back to Top