Ricky Hatton says he will carry on where United left off and round off a memorable week for Manchester sport.
City fan Ricky ready to add to Manchester's sporting success
Ricky Hatton has vowed to make it a memorable week for Manchester by adding to United's European glory.
The Hitman is a firm Manchester City fan, but still paid tribute to Sir Alex Ferguson's side after watching them beat Chelsea in the Champions League final.
He has his own showdown on Saturday night when he looks to get back to winning ways against Juan Lazcano and believes he can put football allegiances aside and keep the feel-good factor going.
"We always have a laugh and a joke between Man City and Man United, but I do it for the whole of Manchester really, so I can't really call the United fans too much because I want them to come and cheer me on on Saturday!" he told
Sky Sports News.
Proud
"I'm a very proud Mancunian and I do it for the whole of Manchester.
"Should I win, or when I win on Saturday night, what with United winning and the league and the European Cup, it could be one of the biggest weeks in Manchester sport."
United striker Wayne Rooney is a close friend of the Hitman and has even carried his world title belt into the ring ahead of his Las Vegas showdown with Floyd Mayweather.
But he, or the other England players, will not be ringside at the City of Manchester Stadium due as they have to join up with Fabio Capello and the rest of the squad ahead of the friendly with the USA.
But Hatton is still confident that he will have the support of plenty of players when it comes to his moment in the sporting spotlight.
"A lot of the England players won't be coming because they've got a friendly and are on international duty," he said.
"But I think half the Premier League are coming anyway!"
Lazcano has been sporting a United shirt all week and even wore one at the head-to-head press conference in 'enemy territory' at the City's stadium.
It is not the first time Hatton's opponent has used the red half of Manchester to try and rile him - Mayweather wore a United shirt and Jose Luis Castillo emerged as a United fan - but he was more than happy to talk about events in Moscow.
"I'm very happy for them," he said. "I think the match has gone pretty much the way the whole season has gone between United and Chelsea.
"United have just been that one step ahead of them, that (little bit) much better than them all season - and they proved it again the other night."
