
On May 24, at City of Manchester Stadium,
British fight fans will be treated to a boxing feast. Leading the top of the
card will be Britain's favorite son and most popular sportsman this decade,
Ricky Hatton.
In addition, a great deal of interest will be focused on the first appearance in
Britain of IBF light welterweight champion Paul Malignaggi who defends his title
against hardened former belt holder Lovemore N'dou.
This past Saturday night, Junior Witter lost his chance and WBC title when
defeated by American Timothy Bradley, who has now thrown his own name into the
ring to challenge Hatton but Malignaggi is looking to convince the British
public that he alone is the man to face the number one superstar in the division
in the Autumn.
Malignaggi will arrive in London early next week with his entourage and will be
looking to impress the British public the same way Timothy Bradley did as he is
intent upon stealing the spotlight from Hatton on May 24.
The brash Italian-American boxer is not frightened to say what he thinks and his
mouth is as quick as his fists, so fans in the UK can expect to be treated to a
week of wisecracks and sharp punching.
One of the most interesting fights on the undercard is the Commonwealth
welterweight championship when Matthew Hatton challenges Craig Watson for his
title. Watson knows that a loss will put him back down the ratings and lower on
the cards of future dates so he's determined to make sure that it's not a Hatton
double on May 24.
Matthew will also be looking to steal the thunder from his older brother Ricky
as he tries to convince the fans that there is another Hatton worth following on
his way to capturing world honors.
The show at City of Manchester Stadium consists of five title fights and with
each contest evenly matched, this is one of those bills where you can't say the
home corner is certain to win. It's a great night for both the betting public as
well as the boxing fans.
Those unlucky enough to not be one of the 55,000 fans in attendance in
Manchester can tune onto Sky Box Office to catch all the action starting at 7:30
PM.
Doors open at 5:00 PM, boxing starts at 5:30 PM and the show will be over by
11:00 PM so the fans can go out and enjoy the hospitality of Manchester's
restaurants, bars and clubs.
Any remaining tickets to Hatton vs. Lazcano can be purchased on
http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/ ,
http://www.seetickets.com/ ,
http://www.gigsandtours.com/ and
http://www.rickyhitmanhatton.co.uk/ .
Frank Maloney Promotions also announce the British light heavyweight title fight
between champion Tony Oakey and challenger Dean Francis on Friday, June 13 at
the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth, England. Tickets are priced at £80 and £40
and are available by logging onto
http://www.frankmaloney.com/ or by calling the Box Office at 0871 226 1508.
Sky Sports will televise.