Glenn McCrory says Saturday will not be easy for Ricky Hatton - but well worth watching for the rest of us!
Plenty of if's as the Hitman puts himself under pressure
I popped in to the City of Manchester Stadium on Wednesday and I've got to say it looks fantastic.
The preparations are still going on - and I've got to say they've left themselves a lot to do still - but it is going to be one helluva venue for one helluva night.
Sometimes when they drop boxing rings into football grounds, it doesn't quite work, but with this one, the stand is unbroken which means it is entirely enclosed. It looks like a coliseum.
It's hard to imagine what it will be like with 55,000 Mancunians crammed in, all of them there to see Ricky Hatton and it promises to be an incredible night.
But as the fight draws closer, I can't help thinking this might not be as easy as many people think. And it might not be as easy as Ricky himself thinks.
For a start, talk about putting himself under pressure! I know those 55,000 fans could be a massive pick-me-up and it is one of Ricky's dreams to fight there, but on the other hand, it could turn into a nightmare. And a self-staged one at that.
Huge pressure
There has been a lot of talk about the ringwalk and no-one knows what to expect, but what is Ricky going to do? Come in on a tightrope? Walk over broken glass, or a pit of rattlesnakes? He might as well, because he is already putting himself under huge pressure.
Don't get me wrong, I expect Ricky to come through. I love him to bits and I consider him a pal of mine, but there are one or two doubts starting to creep in to my mind. Maybe it's because I have been under the weather (funnily enough, a chest infection), I don't know, but there are a few if's I can't get out of my mind.
What if Juan Lazcano comes out and beats him? This guy has been in with some very good fighters, like Stevie Johnston, Wilfredo Vazquez, Vivian Harris and Jose Luis Castillo. He is not easily stopped and although Hatton took Castillo out, the Mexican was a completely different proposition to the one Lazcano took the distance in 2004.
What if Ricky loses? Where will he go from here? He has put himself under the microscope, big-time. It can happen, especially coming into the fight on the back of a first defeat, with that invincibility he once had, now gone.
What if Ricky never gets over that loss to Floyd Mayweather? This was a fight he was convinced he was going to win. He didn't and it seems to me he's half-convinced himself he was robbed. Not only did he lose, he was KO'd cleanly and you never know what that can do to a guy.
What if the motivation is not quite there? After the Mayweather fight anything else was going to be huge step down. Yes he has all those fans to carry him, but I wonder whether there has been a little bit of a spark missing - from what I've seen - in his preparations. There's been the chest infection of course, but I wonder whether the camp has been in a little bit of flux for this one. Billy Graham and Kerry Kayes don't seem their usual bubbly selves and it's as if they are looking for answers a little bit.
Then again, aren't we all?
Atmosphere
One thing is certain and that is Ricky will be chomping at the bit. That could work two ways though. Remember when he fought Carlos Maussa in Sheffield after that great night against Kostya Tszyu? The atmosphere was electric, Ricky came tearing out and got cut badly.
There is a danger that with the massive stage set, he could be over-eager, charge in again and get caught. Lazcano might not have the best KO percentage in the game, but he has nothing to lose here.
Then again, Ricky has never made it easy for himself. Since that Tszyu fight, when physically, mentally and career-wise he hit the sort of peak boxers and athletes can only dream of, every fight has been tough.
A sweet left hook got him out of trouble against Maussa; he faded badly against Juan Urango; against Luis Collazo he was struggling and although it was a peach that took out Castillo, this was a guy way past his best.
Maybe that it is why we all love Ricky so much, because it is never easy. Maybe that is why only he can sell 55,000 tickets on the back of a loss.
We'll know the answer to all these questions come Saturday evening when, one way or another, you won't be able to take your eyes off it.
