Hatton happy after win

Hatton's relentless aggression won him landslide 120-110, 118-110, 112-108 verdicts on the three judges' cards but brave Lazcano gave him plenty of trouble and came close to dumping the champion on the canvas in rounds eight and 10.

Hatton told Sky Box Office: "There were about three or four times in the fight when I thought I had him. If I wanted to box my way to a points victory, I could have come through a lot more comfortably."

The Mancunian also admitted he was more nervous about the fight than he had been before any of his previous 44.

"The hardest one's out the way, coming back from Floyd Mayweather," he added: "I've never been more nervous before about a boxing match in my life."

"I felt great in the gym but it's different once you get in there.

"All those demons are in your mind: 'can I come back as strong?'."

Hatton hit the deck in the opening seconds of round three but it was clearly a slip and referee Howard Foster judged it so. Hatton responded by clattering home a superb left uppercut, but brave Lazcano rode the storm.

While Hatton was dominant, his obvious eagerness to finish the job was not helping, with the Mexican still firing back admirably through the onslaught.

Both men touched gloves at the start of the final round and Hatton pursued the challenger until the final seconds before the bell sounded to end a fine contest for which both men deserved credit.