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Boxing Weigh-in: Mayweather Vs HattonBy Jane Warburton December 8th, 2007 All Boxing Photos Click for larger image © Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing This Weigh-in at the MGM Grand Arena - 5 or 6 thousand British Fans packed in to the tiered seats to support Ricky Hatton as he weighed in ahead of tomorrow nights Main Event. I heard that some fans had tried to camp out over night at the door of the Garden Area but were sent away till morning by Security. There were rumoured to be fans arriving as early as 6.00 am this morning to ensure they had a good seat at the weighin. The seating quickly filled up with fans. You can always rely on Ricky Hatton fans to sing and cheer and today they were in fine form. The ‘Band’ arrived to prompt the singing and it wasn’t long before there developed a fantastic ‘party’ atmosphere in the arena. The atmosphere was like nothing we had ever witnessed before! I felt immensely proud to be British and so lucky to be present at such a fantastic occasion. The band played continuously, the fans sang, cheered, yelled, and clapped continuously. The only support the Mayweather had in the arena - was one lone man who unfortunately was surrounded on all sides by Hatton supporters who made no secret of the fact that there was a ‘Mayweather’ fan in the house! Infact, when he popped outside - the ‘Band’ played him out ! The other supporters were children. Mayweather reportedly does do a lot of work for children - and so I guess they are his biggest fans. MC, John McDonald, first introduced the British Boxers that would be fighting later this afternoon on the ‘British Invasion’ Bill. Also on the stage - Lennox Lewis put in an appearance, Sugar Shane Mosley, Marco Antonio Barerra, Oscar de la Hoya (who also got huge cheers from the crowd), Joe Calzaghe, Enzo Maccarinelli and Bernard Hopkins (!) Once the stage was cleared, Michael Buffer introduced Ricky Hatton. The whole arena erupted in to noisy excitement! Ricky appeared on the stage alongside Billy Graham, Kerry Kayes and Matthew Hatton. Floyd May weather appeared alongside Leonard Ellerbe and his belts were carried by ‘Dancing with the Stars’ contestants Wayne Nugent and Helio Castroneves. Mayweather was boo‘ed and jeered by the crowds. Clearly rattled by the tremendous support for the Hitman - he seemed in a hurry to get the weighin over and done with! Main Event: WBC and Ring Magazine World Welterweight Title - 12 Rounds Ricky took the mike to address the fans. “What can I say, What can I say to a turn out like that!? It’s fantastic. But I want you to answer me 2 questions. Who’ve you come to see? [YOU] Floyd? [NO] Who’s taking the belt? [You are] Let’s f**ckin ‘av im! As both men were brought together for the head-to-head, they faced each other noses pressed against each other and again - there was some pushing which prompted both teams to pull their man away. For a moment - the fight almost started 24 hours early! Bets on the fight continue and Bookmakers say that Hatton has been backed more than any other British person ever. Pay-per-view monies generated are reported to have exceeded the previous record set by the Mayweather/De la Hoya fight. The Undercard fighters then weighed in: Jeff Lacy (St.Petersburg, FL) vs. Peter Manfredo, jr. (Providence, RI) Daniel Ponce de Leon (Cuathemoc, Mex) vs. Eduardo Escobedo (Mexico City) Wes Ferguson (Flint, MI) vs. Edner Cherry (Nassau, Bah) Daniel Jacobs (Brooklyn, NY) vs. Jose Hurtado (San Isidro, CA) Danny Garcia (Philadelphia PA) vs. Jesus Villareal (Harris, TX) Jonathan Oquendo (Bayman, PR) vs. Andres Ledesma (Miami, FL) Jose Rodriguez (New York, NY) vs. Ishmail Arvin (Baltimore, MD) Related Boxing Articles...
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