By Scott Gilfoid: If you were hoping that 33-year-old former two division world champion Ricky Hatton was going to take the always tough Michael Katsidis for his next fight on November 24th you might be disappointed with this news. Kataidis’ agent Matthew Tripp told Sky Sports “At this stage there have been no discussions. But it is something we would consider depending on the purse and depending on the weight.”

It’s unclear who started the rumor about Hatton fighting Katsidis or why started it in the first place. But Hatton’s people probably should have come forward to say that Katsidis wasn’t the guy, because some boxing fans might have purchased tickets to see Hatton fight on November 24th in Manchester thinking Hatton would be fighting a solid guy like Katsidis. Those fans might feel less than happy if they’re stuck tickets to see Hatton fight some 3rd tier fighter pulled off the street and thrown in the ring to get smashed.

Paying to see Hatton fight Katsidis is one thing, but to have to pay to see Hatton flatten a guy netted on the street is altogether different. Personally, if I bought tickets thinking I was going to see Hatton fight Katsidis, I’d be rage if that fight didn’t happen and I had sit through watching Hatton demolish a guy with a 3-16 record. Who wants to see that?

I knew it was too good to be true. When I heard Katsidis’ name mentioned for Hatton, I could hardly believe it because Hatton had a lot of soft touches in his career and just a few good opponents. Actually, just three – Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Manny Pacquiao. The Tszyu-Hatton fight came at the very end of Tszyu’s career when he was 35 and had fought few times in the last couple of years of his career due to injuries.

Still, even with Tszyu looking weight drained and rusty for the Hatton fight, he was the better fighter when he wasn’t having to deal with Hatton’s grappling on the inside. I wish Joe Cortez had the referee for that fight because I feel Tszyu would have knocked Hatton out if Cortez had been the one working it. He wouldn’t have put up with Hatton’s wrestling on the inside and would have broken the action apart over and over until, and likely taken points away for some of Hatton’s fouls.

So who will Hatton fight if not Katsidis? My guess is a nice 3rd tier fighter with a dreadful record and a weak chin. Someone that won’t make it past the 3rd round. In other words, a nice fodder opponent that will topple over after Hatton hits him hard with some shots. A good fight? Heck no. Will it help Hatton? Nope. It’ll be a waste of time, because Hatton won’t get anything from the fight, and it won’t show what Hatton’s got left in the tank after three years out of the ring. I don’t expect to Hatton to have anything left, which is why I was hoping he’d face Katsidis so that he could put Hatton out of his misery quickly so that he didn’t waste the boxing fans’ time getting their hopes up.