 Hatton blamed his preparations for a below-par display |
Ricky Hatton completed the 13th successful defence of his WBU light-welterweight title with a points win over Carlos Vilches on Saturday. Hatton was never in danger against the Argentine, despite admitting afterwards that he felt "flat" and struggled to find his normal energy level.
The Briton did floor his opponent with a left hook in the fifth round but the referee deemed it a low blow.
Hatton dictated the pace and picked up a 119-108, 119-108, 120-107 decision.
The challenger proved more durable and awkward than expected at Manchester's MEN Arena.
Hatton said: "To be honest I felt really comfortable - never once did I not feel in control or losing my grip.
"But I felt flat and tired, it was an under-par performance.
 |  We're aiming for Paul Spadafora or Vivian Harris and I hope next week one of those will be in place |
"I don't have too many bad nights but you can mark one down - that was a little bit below average." Hatton's promoter Frank Warren said he was hopeful of confirming a big bout for the Manchester fighter next week.
"We want big fights but we need American TV to make it work.
"If your promoters put up the money for big fights, we'll have them," Warren told Sky Sports.
"He'll have a big fight in October. We're aiming for Paul Spadafora or Vivian Harris and I hope next week one of those will be in place."
Hatton blamed a lack of preparation due to a hand injury sustained in a previous fight for his below-par display.
"I only had five weeks to prepare for this," he said.
"I like to give myself 10 weeks to get ready for a fight and I had to cram this one in because of the injury.
"I wanted to put on a slightly better performance to keep proving I'm one of the top light welterweights in the division.
"I won relatively easy but I just couldn't get that kick, that burst, and I didn't feel as strong as usual."
On the undercard, Anthony Farnell lost his WBU middleweight title when he was stopped by Portugal's Eugenio Montero in the 10th round. The home favourite agreed to defend his crown at five days' notice and looked poor throughout.
Farnell collapsed on the ropes after a less than explosive assault by the challenger and as he got to his feet with blood pouring from his left eye, referee Dave Parris called the contest off.
MMIX
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