Light Welter Prospect Anthony Upton Signs With Hatton

Light-Welterweight prospect Anthony Upton has signed a long-term deal with Hatton Promotions. The 22-year-old, who was an Irish international as an amateur, has been training with Ricky Hatton for a number of months and joins his older brother Sonny on the Hitman’s promotional roster.

He will retain respected Trad TKO boss Johnney Eames as his manager and his next appearance will be at the Troxy in London on June 14 – a bill which also features fellow Hatton charge Ryan Burnett.

“I’m over the moon to have Ricky as my promoter,” Anthony, 3-0 (1 KO), said. “He’s my trainer and I think him promoting me as well is the best thing for my career. I’ve seen how he’s treated Sonny and Ryan Burnett and he’s always looked after them well so I didn’t hesitate to sign.

“I’ve trained with Ricky for a while and I always thought he’d want to snap me up after he’d seen me fight. He had a talk with my Dad this week and now everything’s sorted. Ricky’s a legend in boxing. He’s the best trainer I’ve had because he’s been in there and done it at the top and now I’m promoted by him as well, I think I’ll probably be with him until the end of my career.

“Still being able to have Johnny as my Manager is a good thing because I can box on his shows down in London and Ricky can get me on shows in The North. He’s got a lot of contacts as well so, like Sonny, I should be able to box in other countries.”

Ricky said: “I’m thrilled that Anthony has joined Hatton Promotions. He’s only been in the gym with me for a few months but you can see the potential he’s got. As well as being talented, he’s one of those down to earth lads that everyone likes. He’s got a lot of support in Dublin, Belfast and London and I think his fan-base is just going to grow and grow like mine did, to be honest with you.

“It’s still early days, but I’m confident we can get him and his brother in some very big fights in the future.”