Purse row puts paid to Hatton fight

Published on Thursday 22 January 2009 09:17

RICKY HATTON'S proposed showdown with Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on May 2 has been called off, according to the British fighter's representative.

Pacquiao last month secured a dominating win over Oscar De La Hoya and had been keen to tackle Hatton but the two sides have failed to agree terms on how to split the purse.

Hatton had been due to participate in a media tour next week but his representative and Richard Schaefer, chairman of Golden Boy promotions, confirmed that will no longer take place and instead they will now pursue other options.

"The fight is off and I instructed (tour manager] Kelly Swanson to cancel the tour," Schaefer said.

"The Hattons called me and asked again if we had a signed deal from Pacquiao and when I said we didn't, they said they won't sit around any more.

"They would like me to explore three fights they are interested in."

The Englishman's camp had hoped to stage the fight at Wembley Stadium in front of nearly 100,000 people but conceded ground when Pacquiao's camp – and American television chiefs – demanded it take place across the Atlantic. Hatton's lawyer Gareth Williams also said recently they had agreed to fight early in May despite wanting the contest to be held later in the month.

Williams had threatened to take action if the verbal contract agreed in December was broken.

He said earlier this month: "As and when I'm officially told that the contract has been breached, then I will do something about it legally."

With the bout seemingly dead, De La Hoya, Juan Manuel Marquez, Juan Diaz and even former opponent Floyd Mayweather are among the early contenders to step in to fight Hatton.