By Liam Santiago: As big a fan of Ricky Hatton as I am, the recent statement he made about wanting to fight Mayweather in his comeback bout is ridiculous. Wanting a rematch with Mayweather is fine, but not in his next fight. Mayweather is on a completely different level, and although I believe Hatton can beat him, it won’t happen if the rematch is made for 2010. Hatton needs to come back and make a statement to the light welterweight division, against Timothy Bradley.

Bradley is the current ruler of the 140 pound division, a title which Hatton recently lost after holding for so long. The young California man is extremely fast and talented. Beating Bradley would put Hatton back into world title contention. Of course, it would be no walk in the park for Hatton. Bradley could cause Hatton many problems, however, I do believe he would sucombe to the Hitman’s pressure. Bradley has never mixed it with anyone of Hatton’s callibre and he lacks the power to hurt Hitman.

Remember, Hatton is still ranked second in the 140 pound category and has only ever lost to the two best pound for pound fighters on the planet. I can see no one else at that weight that could cause Hatton many serious problems. Witter, Khan, Kotelnik and Malignaggi are a long way away from matching him.

Lets get one thing straight first. Hatton does not deserve a fight with Mayweather. Not yet. I believe the referee had a major part to play in the defeat to Mayweather. If Hatton can really work away at Mayweather, he can stop him. However, first Hatton needs to beat the best light welterweight and that is Bradley. If Hatton asked me for advice, I would say, fight Bradley. If you beat him, fight Amir Khan. When he beats Khan, I would advise him to fight Mayweather.