I won’t let you down,’ Hatton tells British fans

Ricky Hatton has made a promise to his legions of British fans.

"I am not going to let you down," the ultra-aggressive Hatton told the BBC after it was confirmed that everything is green and go for the much-awaited 12-round showdown with Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"I’ve challenged the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world once and came second," said Hatton, who lost a heartbreaking stoppage to then pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Dec. 2007.

"That fight was at welterweight (147 lbs) but I’ve always said that at light-welterweight (junior-welterweight) there is no one better than me in the world. With perseverance and hard work I believe I can become the best boxer in the world," said the 30-year-old native of Manchester.

Hatton hasn’t been beaten at super-lightweight (140 lbs) and the steel-fisted right-hander plans to add a marquee name like Pacquiao to his growing list of victims.

Pacquiao hasn’t fought at this weight class but was sensational at welterweight late last year against Oscar De La Hoya, who looked as though he had been ran over by a truck after eight rounds of relentless battering.

"It’s going to be a cracking fight, if I wasn’t fighting Pacquiao I’d be a fan of his, and Ricky Hatton fights are never dull," concluded Hatton, who is a 2-1 underdog.

Pacquiao is unperturbed that he is facing a livewire foe like Hatton as the four-division champion remains optimistic that Hatton will end up like the ones who tried to challenge his superior skills and blazing hand speed.

Pacquiao will start training under Freddie Roach not on March 1 as what had earlier been targeted but on March 4 or 5 as he has to fulfill his promotional obligations.

Pacquiao leaves for Los Angeles on Feb. 24 and the following day he will be joined by Roach and a few advisers and Top Rank chief Bob Arum to London then onward to Manchester. From the UK, they’ll head back to the US and New York will be the first stop of a two-leg tour that will end in Los Angeles.