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 | | Thursday, 7 February, 2002, 19:57 GMT Hatton ahead of schedule  Ricky Hatton will draw a crowd of 12,000 in Manchester By BBC Sport Online's Sanjeev Shetty in Manchester Frank Warren has seen enough prospects disappoint over the years. So when he talks in glowing terms about Ricky Hatton's promise and ability, some of it may not be the hyperbole that one expects from a promoter. Warren expects to match Hatton against undisputed junior-welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu at the end of the year. And his confidence in making such a match has been lifted by the Mancunian's progress in the ring.
"At this stage of his career, he is doing better than I anticipated - he is doing well, he's exciting the crowd and he wants to be a winner." Those last words are remarkably similar ones to those that Warren used when he promoted Prince Naseem Hamed. The pair parted company in 1998, under less than amicable circumstances and Warren believes that Hamed's 'bubble has burst'. But Hatton's progress means that Warren no longer needs to promote most of his shows in London, as evidenced by the 12,000 people he expects to attend this Saturday's bill in a city better known for football than boxing. "They are a city here that gets behind their sports - they've got the Commonwealth Games and they tried to get the Olympics. "All these things shows it's a city that likes sport and wants sport to work.
And he believes that Hatton's particular success comes from being just a down-to-earth guy. "He's a great person outside the ring - he's a nice guy who does lot of things for local charities and while I don't want to sound like Smashy and Nicey, he genuinely does it from the heart. "He doesn't go to press conferences to brag and boast and try and get the crowd there. He just goes there and is himself. "But once that bell goes, you'll see a different guy altogether." When that world title challenge against Tszyu eventually comes off, Warren is cautiously optimistic that the fight will take place in America. "Hopefully we can persuade Tszyu to come here, because it will make sense for him to do so. "He's a Russian based in America - Ricky has a good following here and when he goes for that unification fight, that's where it should be - Maine Road, Manchester - and that's what we have to push for." Tough talk One fight that Warren will not be promoting is Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson, and he doubts whether any of his fellow promoters will have much joy in putting such a fight together. "First of all - I don't think that fight will happen. I don't think Lennox Lewis deep down wants the fight. "If Tyson goes to one of the others states which fall under the jurisdiction of the American Boxing Association, they will still have the problem of getting the guarantee that the MGM Grand gave for the fight which was $12.5m." As ever, Warren was not at a loss for words when it came to the subject of Hamed, who returns to the ring on 23 March in London against Spain's Manuel Calvo. "Naz is not looking for a tough fight - Calvo is not a tough fight. He's never going to get back what he had. "He doesn't fight often enough, he's overweight outside the ring and his skills have deteriorated. "Unfortunately his day and era is gone." | |
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