By Sanjeev Shetty BBC Sport in Manchester

Ricky Hatton beat American Vince Phillips by a unanimous points decision to retain his WBU World Light Welterweight crown at Manchester's MEN Arena in a gruelling contest on Saturday.

Hatton was a clear winner on points More pictures from the fight

Hatton survived a couple of rocky moments and had to deal with a cut above his right eye as early as the first round.

But he managed to ride out those difficult periods to contain Phillips and punish him in every round of the bout.

The 39-year-old American, who initially refused to leave his dressing room, was courageous throughout but his ageing body could not find the energy to compete with the relentless Hatton.

Phillips began to bleed in the second round, ironically from an identical cut to the one that Hatton suffered.

The first three rounds were frenetic, with Hatton digging damaging hooks into Phillips' ribcage but also having to absorb some stiff right hands.

One such blow rocked the Mancunian in the fourth, although he recovered quickly enough to boss the rest of the round.

Phillips' workrate diminished with every round and he seemed to ready to be knocked out in the sixth and seventh.

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But another twist in the tail came in the eighth as the challenger landed a three-punch combination that clearly rocked Hatton and reopened the cut over his right eye.

That was effectively Phillips' last stand although he still managed to answer the final bell, despite his legs having appeared unsteady for most of the fight.

Hatton was declared the winner by scores of 119-109 120-107 120-108, meaning that Phillips won just one round on one of the judges' scorecards..

The winner improves his record to 32 wins, with 24 by knockout.

Phillips suffered his eighth loss in 53 fights, with 44 wins, one draw.

Hatton is now set for a summer showdown with bitter rival Junior Witter, who won earlier on the show.

The champion admitted he had been "a bit reckless" but paid tribute to his opponent after the bout, saying: "I take my hat off to Vince Phillips.