By Sean McDaniel: Fringe welterweight contender Matthew Hatton (37-4-2, 14 KO’s) still isn’t giving up on his dream of fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. In an article at News of the World, the 28-Hatton says “I know that people would give me a slim chance and I would be a huge underdog, but I absolutely fancy my chances of beating him.” Hatton, the younger brother of Ricky Hatton, is hoping to get the call as a replacement for March 13th in case Mayweather’s fight with Manny Pacquiao falls through.

It’s looking like Mayweather and Pacquiao won’t be fighting unless something can be done to get them to change their intractable stalemate of the random blood tests. Hatton, apparently, has been contacted by Golden Boy Promotions as a replacement for Pacquiao. Given that Hatton has never fought anyone in the top 10 before during his career, it would seem very doubt that he would give Mayweather any problems whatsoever.

However, Hatton still feels confident about his chances of beating Mayweather, saying “I would be prepared to fight anyone and in boxing all it takes is one punch to upset any man.” That’s true, it only does take one punch to change a fight. However, the problem is Hatton has very little power to speak of and is more of a pure boxer, unlike his older brother Ricky Hatton, who is more of a classic slugger.

Matthew Hatton says “He [Mayweather] is keen to fight in England, and made it clear I am top of the list if Pacquiao falls through.” I almost feel sorry for Hatton. It’s clear that he really has his hopes built up for a fight with Mayweather, and if Floyd ends up fighting Pacquiao instead, Matthew will probably feel pretty down about it. This will probably be Hatton’s best change of a huge money fight for the remainder of his career. It’s doubtful that Hatton will rise up high enough in the rankings to ever get a shot at a world title holder, and even if he does, he won’t likely get a chance against a huge star like Mayweather.

This kind of fight is like a dream come true for Matthew. Hatton should know soon whether he’ll get the call for a Mayweather bout, because Pacquiao and Mayweather have little time for their negotiation stalemate to be corrected for their March 13th fight to go ahead.