Hatton confirms comeback

Ricky Hatton has confirmed plans to stage a return to the ring with a fight scheduled for November 24 against an unnamed opponent.

It is more than three years since Hatton suffered a second-round knockout by Manny Pacquiao in May 2009 and just a year later he was stripped for his licence after admitting to using cocaine.

Rumours of a comeback have been doing the rounds for some time and his appearance before the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) in Cardiff on Wednesday all but confirmed the reports.

“It’s more than a comeback. I’m fighting to redeem myself,” Hatton confirmed on Friday.

“I want British boxing to be proud of me again. The only way to convince everyone I’m back is by flattening someone on 24 November.”

Hatton became the British light-welterweight champion in 2000 and went on to claim a number of victories at the division before moving up to welterweight where he won the WBA title with a win over Luis Collazo.

His first professional defeat came at the hands of Floyd Mayweather when he was stopped in the tenth round but the Englishman recovered to beat Juan Lazcano and Paulie Malignaggi.

His final bout took place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas but it ended in defeat with Pacquiao knocking him out in the second round.

“Why am I coming back? It’s been well documented what’s happened to me since the last time I’ve been in a boxing ring,” the 33-year-old added.

“I’ve started looking after myself a bit better and getting fitter and that’s how it started. I don’t want to be fighting at four or six-round levels – I want to fight for world titles.

“It’s about more than money, this comeback. People say nice things about me but they don’t know what’s been going on in between my ears.”