Hatton signs with Golden Boy

[Diane]

I think we all seen this coming.

GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS SIGNS “THE HITMAN”

BRITISH SUPERSTAR RICKY HATTON INKS WITH


LEADING BOXING PROMOTIONS COMPANY

LOS ANGELES – March 7, 2008 – Over the course of his storied 10-year career, two division world champion Ricky Hatton has achieved the rarest of feats – becoming a legitimate star on both sides of the Atlantic. Now, as he continues on his quest to be boxing’s best pound for pound fighter, “The Hitman” has aligned himself with Golden Boy Promotions, the premier promotional company in boxing, which he hopes will lead him on the road to the Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota.

“I’m pleased to be working with Golden Boy Promotions and I know that each one of my fights will be bigger than the last, not only for me, but for all of my loyal fans,” said Hatton. “I got a taste of working with Oscar and his team with my fight with Floyd Mayweather and they’re a world-class company. They're the kind of team I need to keep me in big fights against the best in the world.”

President of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar de la Hoya continued, “I’ve always been a fan of Ricky Hatton and it’s an honor to partner with Ricky and Punch Promotions to add him to the Golden Boy Promotions roster. He’s a fighter universally loved by fight fans because of his heart and aggressive style. We’re all expecting even bigger and better things from him in the coming months.”

Hatton’s first fight under this new promotional contract will be announced at a later date.

One of boxing’s true superstars, Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton (43-1, 31 KO’s) has grown from a local attraction into a member of boxing’s pound for pound elite. A proud native and resident of Manchester, England, Hatton won his first world title, the WBU crown, in 2001 and defended that belt an amazing 15 times. But it wasn’t until he stopped Kostya Tszyu for the IBF and Ring Magazine junior welterweight titles in June of 2005 that he truly broke out onto the world scene. Later in 2005 he added the WBA title to his collection by knocking out Carlos Maussa and by 2006 he won the WBA welterweight title by defeating Luis Collazo in his first fight in the United States since 2000. Hatton has since made the US his second home, defeating Juan Urango and Jose Luis Castillo here. In his most recent fight, Hatton fell short of victory against the world’s best pound for pound fighter, Floyd Mayweather in one of the year’s biggest events. After a short vacation, Hatton is chomping at the bit to get back in the ring and reaffirming that he is the best 140-pound fighter in the world.