Ricky Hatton looks certain to take on Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on May 2 after receiving a contract signed by the Filipino boxer.
MGM Grand in Las Vegas to stage massive bout on May 2
Ricky Hatton looks certain to fight Manny Pacquiao on May 2 after receiving a contract signed by the Filipino boxer.
The massive bout will be staged at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the same venue where the Hitman suffered his only defeat as a professional, to Floyd Mayweather Jnr.
Since then the Mancunian has bounced back to winning ways, defeating Juan Lazcano on points in his home city before stopping Paulie Malignaggi last November.
A deal to fight Pacquiao - widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world - seemed to have fallen through over financial terms.
Done deal
However, the bout is back on after Pacman put pen to paper on a 50-50 split that had originally been agreed before Christmas.
"We have got the contract, signed by Manny," Hatton's lawyer, Gareth Williams, said.
Hatton has yet to sign the deal himself but Williams insisted that was only due to logisitics.
"It won't be a problem and we'll announce the fight at a press conference on Thursday," he added. "All the pressure is off now."
Golden Boy Promotions had begun early negotiations with alternative opponents for Hatton, in Oscar De La Hoya and Mayweather Jr.
Pacquiao had always been their first choice though and the fight now looks likely to go ahead with Hatton's IBO light-welterweight title on the line.
