Dad backs Hatton to justify changes

A homecoming fight in Manchester in May brought a laboured points victory over Juan Lazcano as Hatton dropped back down to his natural division at light welterweight and led to Hatton breaking up his 12-year partnership with trainer Billy Graham.

And Ray Hatton has backed his son's decision to part company with Graham and join forces with renowned American trainer Floyd Mayweather snr, saying: "When you've had a long time with one trainer and one camp you can get into the realms of déja vu."

He added: "You can walk into the gym and it's all much of a muchness, you switch off, you can do it with your eyes shut.

"At this stage of his career he's come here with Floyd Mayweather, arguably one of the best coaches in the world, and he's having to think all the time.

"He's learning new things all the time and when you're learning all the time, your brain is ticking over, your mind's razor-sharp and I think it's showing in some of the things he's doing.

"A lot of people are saying you can't teach an old dog new tricks and that six or seven weeks of trying to learn too much might not be helpful but I'm afraid that's a typical trait of us, isn't it - all doom and gloom.

"I would prefer people to say 'Well, full marks to Ricky Hatton'."

Hatton said his son's eagerness to embrace Mayweather's new training methods were evidence of an ongoing commitment to maintain his status as the best light welterweight in the world.

"He's getting up at five o'clock in the morning, he's running up mountains with hobnailed boots on, he's trying new things and he's doing all that not just to prove to himself but to prove to all the media and all the fans out there that Ricky Hatton still has a hunger and wants to show everybody that he still is the best fighter on the planet at 140 pounds," he added.