By Jordan Taylor: As with most of the UK’s population, back in December 2007, we were rooting for Ricky Hatton to beat the great Floyd Matweather. Hatton up until that fight had had a fine run in the ring, taking his tally to 44 fights without loss, beating the likes of Juan Urango, Luis Collazo, Jose Luis Castillo and the great Kosta Tszyu on the way. He was a P4P fighter, and was named The Ring magazines fighter of the year back in 2005. Now it seems Ricky Hatton is associated with phrases like ‘past it, ‘over the hill’ or ‘over rated’. I personally find it quite irritating, and totally unjust.

Hatton now find himself at a pivotal point in his career. If (I am pretty confident he will) he beats Malignaggi, there are some monster fights waiting. Oscar De la Hoya looks pretty certain at Wembley stadium in front of 100, 000 fans, as does the fight with the Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao at the same venue. These two fights alone would generate so much interest, appealing to both Purists and the mainstream media. The later in particular, as the two fighters have such large fan-bases, and I believe will showcase a supreme meeting of 2 fighters. The magnitude of thee events can only be good for boxing, and money wise for all parties wise, you are looking at hundreds of millions in revenue.

This leads us to a potential fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. I feel Hatton was genuinely in the mix against him for the first six rounds last year, and with the right trainer now in place, we can see a huge fight on the horizon. Hatton, Pacman, Mayweather and De la Hoya; truly massive fights waiting to happen. Many will scoff at this bold statement, but Hatton has the hunger and desire to beat all four of these fighters should the dream be realised. Hatton for Pound for Pound best fighter in the world by 20101. He deserves it. The time is right for him to prove the doubters wrong. The same people who say Joe Calzaghe is a fraud, and that his 11 year reign as WBO champion does not count. The same people who slate David Haye for having a glass jaw and being over-rated.

2009 is the year of the Brits!