BOXING
Rarely in recent times has a fight attracted so much attention.
In the early hours of Sunday morning Stockport's Ricky Hatton will face Floyd Mayweather Jr in the biggest welterweight fight since the 1999 clash between Oscar De La Hoya and Felix 'Tito' Trinidad.
The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas is the venue and thousands of British fans are expected to flood the arena cheering on their man.
Both fighters are undefeated and Hatton predicts the majority of the pressure will rest on his opponents shoulders.
He said " He's got to dig deep at the weekend to win. I've never seen Floyd did deep, grab the bull by the horns and pull a fight out of the bag. I'm sure he's in the best shape of his life, but he does not realise how good I am and that's going to be a shock for him."
While Ricky Hatton believes he has what it takes to defeat the American Mayweather has also weighed in with his own pre-fight warning.
He said this week "Hatton will fight his heart out but he's got a weakness and on fight night I'll show you what it is. It won't go the distance.He's been down, he cuts easily, he swells and he's fighting the best in the sport."
The unbeaten American insists he is even better than legends Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali saying he is the "greatest fighter that ever lived."
There is concern in some sectors that Ricky Hatton may be a little light for Sunday morning's fight. The last time the British boxer stepped up from light-welterweight to welterweight he struggled to beat Luis Collazo on points in May 2006 for the WBA title.
The clash has captured the imagination of American sports fans and it's expected to attract a massive television audience on both sides of the Atlantic. Sky Sports will be showing the fight on Sunday as a nation hopes the Manchester lad can silence his critics once and for all.
