Roach - Ricky could be next

Roach: not ruling out Hatton

IfIf Ricky Hatotn decides to continue I am sure he'd want to fight again for a 140-pound title and it'd be a big fight here in England, so I am sure it could happen.

Freddie Roach
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Freddie Roach believes Amir Khan could be heading for a blockbusting all-British showdown with Ricky Hatton.

The trainer, who celebrated his 25th world champion when Khan out-pointed Andreas Kotelnik to claim the WBA title, has been one of those calling for the Hitman to retire.

But although promoter Frank Warren warned the two-weight world champion he would get beaten by Khan if they did meet, Roach refused to rule out a fight.

"I just want to enjoy this for a while!" he told Sky Box Office. "We'll probably defend this somewhere down the line, maybe Ricky Hatton down the line.

"If he decides to continue I am sure he'd want to fight again for a 140-pound title and it'd be a big fight here in England, so I am sure it could happen."

Best wishes

Hatton, who is a friend of Khan, has been in hospital with a stomach problem this week - but sent his best wishes before the fight.

He has still to make a formal announcement on his future following his knockout defeat at the hands of Manny Pacquiao, pound-for-pound the best in the world and the prize thoroughbred in Roach's Wildcard stable.

The rumour is that Hatton will have at least one more fight and the likelihood of that being against Khan will have increased with the news that he is staying at light-welterweight.

"This is definitely a better weight for him; he's more resilient, he takes a better shot," said Roach.

"Being at 135 I think weakened him and that was part of the reason was beaten by (Breidis) Presxott. But the thing is, he's very strong. Once he learns how to settle down and use his power more, he'll be OK."

Roach believes the 22-year-old can now go on and become one of boxing's biggest names.

More

He has already beaten Marco Antonio Barrera and won a world title in 22 professional fights but his trainer is adamant there is even more to come.

"I'm tremendously proud - he fought a great fight. Kotelnik came to fight, was tough and put a lot of pressure on us, but the workrate was very high," he said.

"He tired a little towards the end but sucked it up and held on, but he stuck to the gameplan did what I told him to do, used the pace. I thought he fought his best fight yet and we're going to get better from here on out.

"I think he's learning how to fight the guys that pressure him, although I thought we gave too much respect to Kotelnik - and there were certain moments when we could've backed him up because he struggled a bit when we did - but overall for a young man of 22, he's doing fine."