If it's come from Stuart Brennan then his source will be a good'un

Taken from the Manchester Evening News:

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co....r_cracker.html

RICKY Hatton is expected to discover in the next 48 hours whether his mega-bucks showdown with Floyd Mayweather will take place later this year.

The Hitman's UK promoter Dennis Hobson is locked in talks with Mayweather's advisers and TV executives in the States, with a £5m offer to the five-weight world champion sitting on the table.

Hatton has already received the encouraging news that should his biggest pay-day fall through, "Golden Boy" Oscar de la Hoya has already offered to fill the gap, although that fight might have to wait until next summer, with Wembley touted as a likely venue.

Things have moved quickly since Hatton's fourth-round Las Vegas stoppage of Jose Luis Castillo just over a month ago.

Hatton delivered a few well-aimed barbs at Mayweather straight after that victory, declaring that he and Castillo had provided more action in four rounds than the master tactician from Michigan had managed in his whole career.

The teasing worked. Mayweather, said to be enjoying his "retirement" by touring night clubs, ordering gallons of the best champagne for his friends, hangers-on and bystanders, and then tossing 100-dollar bills to the crowd, had his ego pricked.

He soon declared that he was ready to come out of an abdication which had lasted little more than six weeks, and show this uppity Brit a thing or two.

But while his money-men were meeting to discuss his future at the weekend, the boxer - said to be worth £10m - was in a Miami nightclub partying with two American football stars and ten female admirers.

At one stage of the evening a bodyguard was sent to a SUV parked outside and returned with a black bag containing what an onlooker described as "yards and yards of gold jewellery." Mayweather was draped in the trinkets until he looked "like a Christmas tree."

Now it is hoped that a deal can be struck which would see Hatton and Mayweather meet, probably in Las Vegas on November 10.

Money will be a big stumbling block. Mayweather will insist on the lion's share as the biggest name fighter in the US, where the TV cash will provide the bulk of the purse.


But Hobson has argued that Hatton brings with him a huge support, as 9,000 of the 13,000 inside the Thomas and Mack Center in Vegas last month were British travelling fans, and that kind of live support will help to turn the fight from a big sporting occasion into a major event.

A reliable source told MEN Sport: "It's getting very, very close and I reckon that the next 24 hours will decide things one way or the other, 48 hours at the most, as it will take 24 to come to an agreement and another 24 to run it past all parties."

But de la Hoya threw another interesting possibility into the mix at the weekend when he declared that he intends to carry on boxing, despite his defeat by Mayweather in their meeting in May, in what was the richest fight in history.

De la Hoya has long wanted to fight in the UK, and his words have sparked renewed speculation that he and Hatton could meet at Wembley in the summer of 2008, with the new stadium keen to stage a huge boxing event.

The two men have become firm friends, but neither would find it hard to put that to one side, especially with a multi-million pound scrap in the offing.

"There's been rumblings going on about it," said the Mexican-American multiple world champion. "I respect Ricky. He's a great fighter, he's a great guy.

"If that fight does get made, fans all over the world will be ecstatic. They will see a fight. Ricky Hatton comes to fight. And that's what I love. If we ever do it, it will be a heck of a show, that's for sure."

But Hatton's target remains Mayweather, as victory would ensure he became the No1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet.