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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.
When I arrived at the entrance of the Garden Arena at 11.30 am they had just opened the doors to allow fans in the arena early (as there were too many blocking the area outside the doors!).
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 (!)
Calzaghe and Hopkins had already had an ‘encounter’ in the Media Center earlier. And now, the fans cheered and sang for Joe Calzaghe, shouting to Hopkins to ‘get off’ (and other comments!). Hopkins returned the jeers with taunts at Joe and gestures of ’slitting the throat’.
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.
Hatton looked in fantastic shape and was clearly overwhelmed by the fans.
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 Hatton weighed in at 145 lbs
Floyd Mayweather tipped the scales at 147 lbs
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:
Matthew Hatton (Manchester, England) vs. Frankie Santos (Ponce, PR)
8 Round Welterweight Contest
Hatton 148 lbs
Santos 148 lbs
Jeff Lacy (St.Petersburg, FL) vs. Peter Manfredo, jr. (Providence, RI)
10 Round Super-Middleweight Contest
Lacy 169 lbs
Manfredo 169 lbs
Daniel Ponce de Leon (Cuathemoc, Mex) vs. Eduardo Escobedo (Mexico City)
12 Round WBO World Junior Featherweight Title
Ponce de Leon 121 lbs
Escobedo 122 lbs
Wes Ferguson (Flint, MI) vs. Edner Cherry (Nassau, Bah)
10 Round Lightweight Contest
Ferguson 134 lbs
Cherry 134 lbs
Daniel Jacobs (Brooklyn, NY) vs. Jose Hurtado (San Isidro, CA)
4 Round Middleweight Contest
Jacobs 163 lbs
Hurtado 161 lbs
Danny Garcia (Philadelphia PA) vs. Jesus Villareal (Harris, TX)
4 Round Junior Welterweight Contest
Garcia 144 lbs
Villarreal TBD
Jonathan Oquendo (Bayman, PR) vs. Andres Ledesma (Miami, FL)
6 Round Featherweight Contest
Oquendo 123 lbs
Ledesma 120 lbs
Jose Rodriguez (New York, NY) vs. Ishmail Arvin (Baltimore, MD)
6 Round Junior Middleweight Contest
Rodriguez 154.5 lbs
Arvin 155 lbs
