Hatton also relinquished his IBF belt in April to fight Collazo

Hatton's move was made to try to ensure Collazo's WBA welterweight title is on the line when he steps up a division against the American on 13 May.

Hatton's promoter Dennis Hobson said: "Ricky's immediate goal is to win the welterweight title.

"Had he done so he would have had to relinquish his other title within six days anyway - this is common sense."

The status of Hatton's bout with Collazo has been in doubt ever since a New York judge ruled he was not allowed to defend his WBA light welterweight crown until further notice earlier this year.

The judge said he was barred from fighting for any WBA title, irrespective of the weight division, until he had faced mandatory challenger Souleymane M'baye.

Everybody knows Ricky remains the main man at 140lbs whether he has got the belt or not Promoter Dennis Hobson

Hobson insisted that Hatton had not taken the decision lightly to relinquish the title he won by beating the then WBA champion Carlos Maussa in Sheffield last November.

And he believes the WBA will now officially sanction the Collazo bout.

Hobson added: "Everybody knows Ricky remains the main man at 140lbs whether he has got the belt or not, so this decision just helped clarify the position."

Technically Hatton is now without a world title for the first time since he claimed the WBU belt over Tony Pep in March 2001.