Hatton: Oscar might need a knockout

Ricky Hatton is no stranger to ringside in Las Vegas, but he will be more than just an interested observer. Hatton will be back at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, where he beat Paulie Malignaggi just a fortnight before, to watch Oscar De La Hoya face Manny Pacquiao on Saturday, knowing he could be facing the winner.

"The winner or the loser next is a great fight, but I would like it to be the winner," Hatton said. "I would like it to be Pacquiao because he is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. If Manny beats Oscar I might get my dream of becoming the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

"If Oscar beats Pacquiao because Manny is moving up does he lose his pound for pound title? Maybe he shouldn’t really because Oscar is so much bigger."

A match with De La Hoya is also a strong possibility. Should he make the 10st 7lb welterweight limit to face Pacquiao, Ray Hatton, Ricky's father and business manager, has said that he would try to make a bout between the pair at a catchweight of 10st 4lb. A bout with Pacquiao would be at light-welterweight. Ricky Hatton believes that Pacquiao has every chance of winning the match and doesn't go along with the odds that have De La Hoya a big favourite.

"If Oscar doesn’t knock Manny out in the early rounds it could get interesting because it is late on it affects you if you’re weight drained," Hatton said. "It would be nice for me to see if Oscar dwindles because it would fill me with confidence even though we would fight at welterweight. "Oscar is very clever at what he does. He picks the right fights at the right time. He has one or two fights a year and keeps his face and Golden Boy in profile.

"He fought Stevie Forbes. No disrespect but he was never going to beat him. He had a close fight with Floyd and that gave him reason to have another go at big fights. Now he has got the Manny Pacquiao. He is a giant compared to Pacquiao so it is a good fight for him. All the time he is keeping his company in the shop window.

"Pacquiao is a fight where he is not going to get hurt. Steve Forbes was not going to hurt him. Pacquiao might beat him, but he is not going to hurt him. I think Oscar is being very clever from a business and a boxing point of view."

While Hatton has said he would like to face De La Hoya or Pacquiao next, he does not believe they are his only options. "Manny and Oscar are the big names but I am in a position where I don’t have to wait around for them," he said. "There are a lot of good fighters at light-welterweight like Kendall Holt and Timothy Bradley and without being disrespectful because they are exceptional if I’m going to have a few years left I want big name fighters.

"I’m in a position where I am the number one light-welterweight in the world and I have pulling power. Despite the credit crunch look how many fans came to Las Vegas for Malignaggi and we’d had me, Joe [Calzaghe] and David [Haye] fighting in the space of three weeks.

"When the negotiations come I am in a wonderful position. I like to think that I’m in a position where I can say to Manny or Oscar, if terms aren’t right I’ll f*** off home and fight in front of 100,000."