Hatton: Eggington v Foot could steal the show
Boxing legend Ricky Hatton reckons Stourbridge's Sam Eggington could steal the show with his British welterweight title test on Saturday's fight night.
Eggington puts up his Commonwealth crown for the first time and vies for the Lonsdale belt with Glenn Foot at the Manchester Arena,
'The Savage' has scrapped his way into championship contention with some gutsy displays while undefeated Foot, who won Prizefighter in 2013, has matched his 15 paid wins.
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn reckons the Eggington-Foot bout could knock spectators and Sky Sports viewers dead, tweeting: "It's an absolute Fight of the Year contender."
Hatton's rise to the top was helped along the way by a legendary bloodbath for the British light welter strap in 2000, after he had already claimed Central area, WBO and WBA Inter-Continental honours.
His 12-round war with Jonathan Thaxton remains a memorable British title battle and he's open to this modern-day equivalent matching those efforts, even with two world title fights on the bill.
Hatton said: "Sam's been at our gym to train before and he always looked like he had potential. It's a tough test and I wish both lads all of the best.
"The best fight out there was Floyd Mayweather Jr versus Manny Pacquiao and that turned out to be a stinker. Sometimes, bouts down the card steal the show.
"I've seen these sort of contests become the best wars you have ever seen in your life. This is a good match up."
Hatton never got to win a Lonsdale belt outright, with manager Frank Warren instead sending him after a world title which sparked a three-year run with the WBU strap.
His famous IBF title win over Kostya Tszyu came straight after in a career that also yielded WBA honours at welter, plus becoming the only Brit to share a ring with both Mayweather and Pacquiao.
But 'the Hitman,' now 36 and retired, wanted the chance to claim a British title for his own, having dug so deep with a gash over his left eye - which later required surgery - to outpoint Thaxton.
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Hatton said: "I wanted to become a world champion, obviously, but it means a lot to win a Lonsdale belt. To have that on your mantlepiece is something else.
"You put goals on your wish-list as a fighter and the British title was my first one, to follow so many great boxers over the years.
"It's one of my proudest achievements just to have the belt for a while and people still talk about the Jonathan Thaxton fight today. I was cut in the first 10 seconds!
"I threw everything at him and he was still there. What it taught me was, when you get to that level, they don't just fall over the first time you hit them. He was a tough, tough man."
This weekend's co-main event will see Anthony Crolla get his shot at the WBA world lightweight title, while Scott Quigg defends the organisation's super bantam crown for the fifth time.
The hometown heroes will take centre stage when Crolla tackles interim champion Darleys Perez, while Quigg takes on experienced former IBF boss Kiko Martinez.
Tyrone Nurse also vies with Chris Jenkins for the vacant British light welter strap, while multi-time world title challenger Martin Murray steps up to super middle for a run-out.
Tickets are still on sale priced at £40, £60, £80, £100 and £150 from www.manchester-arena.com or by calling 0844 847 8000. VIP passes costing £300 are available at www.matchroomboxing.com.
