Hatton fired up for May return

Hatton faces Juan Lazcano at the City of Manchester Stadium on May 24 eager to register an immediate return to winning ways following his 10th-round knockout last December.

"Losing has only made me more determined to come back and prove people wrong," he said.

"When you have the first loss of your career, and a knockout loss at that, the knives come out.

"People have said I've had a lot of tough fights and too many fights. They've said I'm not the fighter I was.

"Boxing is nice and easy when you're winning but when you lose you find out what sort of boxer and man you are. Champions become great champions by overcoming obstacles, they don't have everything their own way. That's the position I'm in.

"I'm not saying I needed a kick up the backside but sometimes once you've been beaten after having everything your own way you come back with more fire in your belly."

Only 4,000 tickets remain for his clash with Lazcano after 51,000 were snapped up within five days of being made available and that response has overwhelmed the modest 29-year-old.

"I went to the Nigel Benn v Chris Eubank fight at Old Trafford in 1993 and there were over 42,000 people there," he said.

"I was watching two of my idols and to think that the number of tickets I've sold for Lazcano has surpassed that makes me chuckle at times."