Saturday, Jan. 20, 2007 | 7:12 a.m.
1. Destination fight
Hatton, 28, boxing's modern-day "Hitman" according to his nickname, has long been a wildly popular fighter in his hometown of Manchester, England, where he stopped defending champion Kostya Tszyu before a sellout crowd of 22,000 at MEN Arena in his biggest fight to date in 2005. Yet Hatton says landing a fight in Las Vegas has been his dream for years. "I think nowadays in boxing it's the absolute pinnacle to fight in Las Vegas - probably for American fighters, and even more so for a British fighter," Hatton said.
2. Back to 140
Tonight's bout at Paris Las Vegas marks a return to the familiar junior welterweight division for Hatton, who stepped up to 147 pounds for his most recent fight last May in Boston, where he outpointed southpaw Luis Collazo for a world welterweight title. Hatton faces another left-hander in Urango, but does not expect this scheduled 12-rounder to go the distance. "I'm a knockout fighter, and what makes it exciting is that Urango also goes for the knockout," Hatton said. "The styles certainly point to a great fight."
3. The opponent
Urango, 26, won the IBF title last June after it had been vacated by Hatton, who opted to not make a mandatory defense. "It would be very disrespectful for me to say I consider myself the world champion," Hatton said. "I've got to show Juan Urango the respect he deserves. He's the world champion, and I'm going in there as a challenger." Now based in Hollywood, Fla., Urango said he would dedicate a victory today to fans in his homeland of Colombia. Urango plans to rely on his usual strategy of studying his opponent for one round, then formulating an attack plan: "I'm a professional," he said. "I'm disciplined. I'm not an ordinary boxer."
4. Co-feature
Former two-time lightweight world champ Jose Luis Castillo returns from the suspension he garnered for missing the 135-pound weight limit in last June's scheduled match against Diego Corrales, taking on Hermann Ngoudjo of Montreal in tonight's co-feature. If Castillo and Hatton - both sizable betting favorites - get the job done tonight, their victories could set the stage for a showdown later this year. "That's a super fight (against Castillo), a dream fight, and knowing that is in the distance gives me incentive to get past Urango," Hatton said.
5. Fighter and fan
Hatton will have spent two weeks in Las Vegas by fight night, an extended stay compared with his one-week stay in Boston last year, which he felt was not quite long enough. He's projecting a crowd-pleasing turn in the ring at Paris. "I'm a boxing fan, and I've been one since the day I started boxing," said Hatton, who has been working out at Wayne McCullough's gym here after conducting training camp in Manchester. "Even if I weren't a boxer I'd be a boxing fan I'm trying to show a good left jab and a little more movement than I've shown in recent fights, but generally people will see the same Ricky Hatton - loads of punches. I want my performance to match the special occasion, my first fight in Vegas."
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