Ricky Hatton certainly lived up to his reputation as ?The Hitman? as he hit the bookies for six with his stoppage of Paulie Malignaggi in Las Vegas at the weekend.
Big hitters weighed into the major layers, with bets of ?10,000 at 3-1 against Hatton winning inside the distance while others got on at 7-2 before that price was reduced to 2-1.
The vast majority of wagers were on Hatton and no wonder he was hoisted high after his 11th round victory.
There have been very few more popular scrappers than the Mancunian who is now set for another jackpot night against either Oscar De La Hoya or Manny Pacquiao who meet on December 6.
After losing to Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather at welterweight, Hatton is determined to prove that he is the best around at light-welterweight and went some way towards that by successfully defending his IBO title.
Now he is set for a ?50m bonanza night either in Cardiff?s Millennium Stadium, Wembley or even Croke Park for what would be a sell-out clash, possibly with De La Hoya on Saturday May 3 in the Millennium Stadium because it is covered.
De La Hoya?s Golden Boy promotions chief executive Richard Schaeffer has said, “I would love to see Oscar fight Ricky and I know Oscar would love to fight him too. Oscar against Ricky could be the biggest event in boxing. It would be two great fighters who come to fight and who are loved by the fans. The winner could then fight Floyd Mayweather junior in the autumn.
Mind you, whether Hatton would want to tussle with Mayweather again, is another question as he was comprehensively beaten by the American last time.
It will be interesting to see what corner Floyd Mayweather Senior will be in. He was with Hatton for that win over Malignaggi and the defeat by Mayweather Junior, but is also the former trainer of De La Hoya.
The one with the biggest cash offer will win the day on that one.
Meanwhile, De La Hoya is coming down in weight to fight Pacquiao who is stepping up.
It is the first time for Oscar in the welterweight division while Pacquiao is a natural light welter which makes the 4-1 to be Hatton?s next opponent a worthwhile bet. It?s Pacquiao that Hatton really wants.
Hill?s make De La Hoya 2-1 to be Hatton?s next opponent with Mayweather at 10-1. As for De La Hoya and Pacquiao, Oscar is the hot favourite but 2-1 against Pacquiao is definitely value.
Fight odds (Hill?s): 4-6 Hatton v 11-10 Pacquiao; 25-1 draw; 8-13 De La Hoya v 6-5 Hatton; 25-1 draw; 1-7 Mayweather v 4-1 Hatton; 25-1 draw.
Ladbrokes: 8-11 Pacquiao v Evens Hatton 25-1 draw; 8-11 De La Hoya v Evens Hatton; 20-1 draw; 4-11 De La Hoya v 2-1 Pacquiao; 20-1 draw.
