Ricky Hatton Exclusive interview – In This Week’s Nuts Magazine: Before his fight against Juan Lazcano, The Hitman talks to Nuts magazine about pub crawls, Sven and how he loves being called a “fat b*stard”

How have you been preparing for the fight?

My nickname’s “Ricky Fatton” and it’s true that I usually need to shed a couple of stone before a fight, but that’s no bother. It’s the usual hard slog, tailored to the strengths of my opponent. For this fight, I’ve done 12 weeks of training. I build it up slowly – how many rounds I spar, how many miles I run – and now, I’m doing between 12 and 15 rounds every day, as well as pad work.

What do you miss most when you’re preparing for a fight?

When I’m in training, I miss my pizzas and Chinese food, obviously, as well as nights on the town having a few pints like most lads my age. I have to make a lot of sacrifices.

Will you have any celebrity mates in the crowd?

Yeah, loads. Wayne Rooney’s coming, Joey Barton will be there… half the Premier League in fact! Freddie Flintoff should be in the crowd, Oscar de la Hoya, Mike Tyson, Shane Mosley, Marc Antonio Barrera… My fight’s turning into an occasion, an event.

Could you get Liam Gallagher to sing the national anthem?

It’d be an absolute honour and a dream if Liam turned up and sang. Aside from my family and boxing, the two most important things in my life are Man City and Oasis. I absolutely love ’em! I’ve met Oasis a couple of times and it’d be brilliant if they sang. Just to have them there would help spur me on.

Is Sven-Goran Eriksson going to be there?

I’m sure he will because it’ll be full of ladies! All the City staff and players have been invited. It’ll make me feel very proud when I look down and see them.

What’s your favourite fans’ song about you?

Everywhere I go now, I hear people singing, “There’s only one Ricky Hatton!” so that’s become my signature song. Saying that, it always makes me chuckle when I hear the fans chanting, “You fat b*stard!”

If you win this fight, how will you celebrate?

Well, to start with, there’s an after-fight party at Vermillion, which is a club just around the corner from the ground. It’s a fantastic place and it should be a huge night. After that, I’ll do a pub crawl from Manchester to Tenerife. If you see me, make mine a Guinness!