By Terence Dooley

Ricky Hatton is promoting a show in Altrincham this weekend, and has told the Daily Express that he is hoping to guide the careers of some of the UK's top boxers.  Hatton, though, is still not sure about his own future in the sport.

“I want to stay in boxing and give something back to the sport which gave me so much,” said Hatton when speaking with the Express. 

“Realistically I am not going to go back to school and become an accountant,” he declared, much to everyone’s surprise.  “I love boxing and after so many years in the game I want to stay in it.  Promoting shows is a way of doing this.  I believe boxing promoters get a pretty bad press and I want to try to change that.  We are giving young boxers a chance, with a company which cares for their futures.  I am absolutely convinced some of the fighters we have, like Mark Thompson, Scott Quig [sic], Rhys Roberts and Adrian Gonzalez, all have it in them to go a long way.  We will give them the chance and the rest is up to them.”

Hatton is also guiding Olympian Joe Murray, who does not feature on Saturday's bill.  The ‘Hitman’ has recently signed Mancunian legend Michael Brodie to Hatton Promotions.  Indeed, Ricky confirmed that seeing Brodie comeback has given him pause for thought.

“I wake up some mornings and say, ‘Yes, I’ll come back and fight again’ and then there are others when I think, ‘Possibly not’,” explained Hatton.  “I saw a fighter get knocked out recently and it did send shivers down my spine after what happened to me with Manny Pacquiao, but we will see.  I have not made my mind up yet, other than to say I need to recharge my batteries after 48 fights. I was never a defensive genius, so I have taken a lot of shots in that time. So many fights takes a lot out of you because making the weight is so tough.”

Hatton then dropped his comeback hint: “We have signed [former world title contender] Michael Brodie for our next show and I am a bit like him.  He has taken a bit of time out from the sport and now he is ready to come back.  I feel the time will come when I will give it another go, but I do need longer to really decide the way forward.  In the meantime, helping to promote shows has been brilliant for me and for all the fighters who we are giving a chance to.”

You can see Hatton's show by logging onto www.hattonboxing.tv on Saturday night.  Mark Thompson, the huge puncher from Heywood, headlines the bill.

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