Magic Man handed Judah shot

Hatton Jnr bids to make a name for himself in Vegas

Last updated: 22nd May 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Magic Man handed Judah shot

Hatton Jnr: Carrying the mantle

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Matthew Hatton will bid to extend the family legacy when he takes on former welterweight champion Zab Judah in Las Vegas on July 18.

The Magic Man will fight the New Yorker on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather Jnr's comeback fight against Juan Manuel Marquez in a non-title contest.

It will be a big step up in class for the 28-year-old, who has only operated at British and Commonwealth level despite appearing on the undercard of the majority of brother Ricky's world title contests.

Judah has been in with the best for much of the past decade, although at 31 and with four defeats in his last eight contests it remains to be seen how much he has left.

All four of those losses came in world title fights though, against Carlos Baldomir, Floyd Mayweather Jnr, Miguel Angel Cotto and most recently Joshua Clottey.

In his prime, the Brooklyn southpaw was the IBF light-welterweight champion before famously losing to Kostya Tszyu, after which he was banned for throwing his stool at the referee following a second round stoppage.

But he returned to the top when stepping up to welterweight, losing to Cory Spinks before winning the re-match for the undisputed title.