Hatton was taken the distance by Phillips in his last fight

The fight is set for MEN Arena on 27 September, and Hatton insists he will become the first man to stop Rios, who has won 34 of his 36 professional contests.

Hatton said: "I just want to put on another great performance and every fight now takes me closer to a shot at another world title."

Rios is unlikely to trouble the champion but at least has intimate knowledge of the Manchester venue.

He was jetted in as a possible late replacement prior to Hatton's last win over Vince Phillips in April, when contractual hitches threatened to rule out the American at the last minute.

Huge favourite

Rios got as far as being gloved up before the row was resolved. Hatton went on to beat Phillips on points and extend his unbeaten record to 32 fights.

Rios has twice contested versions of the world lightweight title, losing to Stevie Johnson for the WBC belt in 1999 and Artur Grigorian for the WBO crown in 2001.

But Hatton will be a huge favourite to use his weight advantage to good effect.

He will be making up for lost time after staying out of the ring for four months because of an eye injury sustained during the win over Phillips.