Hatton set for homecoming

Hatton: Back in the swing

He looks good but I'm not in the business of giving a big cheque and profile to someone who's been slagging me off for years.

Ricky Hatton on Junior Witter
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Ricky Hatton is set to reward his loyal fans with a Manchester homecoming on May 24th - but his opponent will not be Junior Witter.

The 29-year-old is continuing to ignore calls for a huge all-British world light-welterweight title clash against the WBC champion.

No venue or opponent have yet been finalised for what will be Hatton's first fight since his knockout defeat against Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas last December.

Ricardo Torres, Kendall Holt and Juan Lazcano are some of the leading 140lb fighters being lined up for the contest.

Resolute

But Hatton has remained resolute that Witter - whose defence against Demetrius Hopkins in April is running into problems - will not be an opponent anytime soon.

"I'm not really thinking about him (Witter). You can never say never but he's not really in our plans. I'm not saying I'll never fight him but he is not on my radar at the minute," Hatton told Britishboxing.net.

"I'd love to knock him (Witter) out and think I would. Witter is fighting well at the minute. He looks good but I'm not in the business of giving a big cheque and profile to someone who's been slagging me off for years."

Witter has long chased a showdown with Hatton - his credentials being boosted by performances of the type which saw former WBA champion Vivian Harris beaten in seven rounds in September.

Big draw

And a match-up with Witter is certainly what British boxing fans want - the Bradford man a far bigger draw than the hard-punching Torres or Holt, the latter scoring a sluggish win over veteran Ben Tackie last week.

However, Hatton seems intent on ignoring the calls and pressing on with a career he insists is far from finished.

He added: "I've already been in the gym a couple of times but now the date is set and I'm back in. Nothing definite is signed yet but I'll get back into the swing of things slowly but surely.

"There is no point in announcing an opponent until we've got the details sorted out. I'm just excited to be fighting again and I don't have a preference about who I fight.

"I just want it to be signed."