Hatton camp plays down potential Witter fight as 'a waste of time'

Gareth Williams insists WBC champion Witter has no business sharing the same ring as Hatton, who is scheduled to stage a grand homecoming at the City of Manchester Stadium on May 24.

Williams also rubbished claims the date could be in jeopardy because of the lack of live television coverage from the United States, saying he expects a live gate of over 50,000 to ensure another lucrative night for his man.

Williams said: "Ricky has got numerous options to pursue. He is being courted by every big promoter in the US and we have options like Manny Pacquaio, Juan Diaz or a rematch against Floyd Mayweather.

"Why is he going to fight Junior Witter when he can fight any of those guys? In our opinion Junior brings nothing to the table. Unless things change dramatically there is no way he is going to fight Ricky Hatton."

Witter's promoter Mick Hennessy sought to move the fight a bit closer this week by announcing he would accept a reversal of the usual purse bid format and accept a 30% share for Witter.

Hennessy added: "As long as there is no greed in the equasion, I remain convinced that this is the fight which can easily be made, and which the public want to see."

But Williams retorted: "It's a nonsense. A 70-30 split would still represent Witter's biggest pay-day by about 30 times. He can't sell out the Doncaster Dome. What makes him think he is worth that?"

The Hatton camp are putting the finishing touches to the big homecoming bill and Williams added: "If we only get 20,000 fans through the gate we'll admit we were wrong. But Ricky transcends boxing, so that isn't going to happen."

Juan Lazcano remains the favoured opponent for the assignment but hard-hitting WBO champion Ricardo Torres is also on the list. Williams claimed HBO's reticence to broadcast the fight live was not an issue.

Williams added: "I had a meeting with HBO in New York in early January when they offered a three-fight deal to Ricky. We made it perfectly clear his next fight would be in Britain at a time convenient to the English fans.

"Whilst the US people weren't happy with that, they appreciated that that is what we wanted to do. We could have fought in the US or on a different date, but Ricky feels he owes this to his British fans.

"Suggestions that the fight may be in jeopardy due to the lack of American TV are an absolute nonsense. This is going to be another huge occasion and will underline the fact that Ricky Hatton is simply in a different league."