Hatton at career crossroad as he fights Malignaggi

LAS VEGAS - The last time Ricky Hatton crossed the pond to fight in this boxing capital he was joined by thousands of his fellow countrymen who were still singing his praises even as Floyd Mayweather Jr. was knocking him senseless.

That was just a year ago, but a lot has changed as Hatton returns to the site of his only defeat to try to resurrect his career and regain his stature as one of the top fighters in the world in a 140-pound fight against Paulie Malignaggi.

The economy has soured and the dollars aren't so cheap anymore for the British, meaning most of the boisterous fans who packed the MGM Grand arena for Hatton's showdown with Mayweather will be doing their singing from home. The good news is the ones who do make it here shouldn't have trouble finding tickets for a fight that hasn't generated a lot of buzz.

That's not the fault of the two fighters, who have had plenty to say about each other and their fight. But with both having suffered losses in their biggest fights and both coming off lackluster performances in their most recent fights, it's hard to make a case that Saturday night's bout will be career-defining for either.

Hatton has the most to lose in the scheduled 12-round bout; indeed some British writers have suggested that he would be better off retiring than engaging in the brawls that have marked most of his fights. He was stopped in the 10th round by Mayweather in his only loss last December, then was rocked several times by Juan Lazcano in a fight he won by unanimous decision before a stadium packed with hometown fans in May in Manchester.

Hatton turned to Mayweather's father, Floyd Sr., to train him after that fight in hopes that he could pick up some defensive skills to go along with a bully style that was so successful for most of his career.

``I've not changed my style but Floyd has just adapted and polished it in a few areas,'' Hatton said. ``A lot of people say father time is maybe catching up to me, but they'll be writing a different script after this fight.''

Malignaggi, who doesn't mind a brawl himself, believes he'll see the same Hatton as always in the ring.

``Everybody has a game plan until they get punched in the mouth,'' Malignaggi said. ``You can teach somebody defensive wizardry but you need to have the talent to go along with it. You have to be born with some kind of natural defensive radar. Ricky Hatton has absolutely no sense of anticipation about what's coming his way.''

Hatton, who turned 30 last month, hasn't been impressive in his most recent fights, other than a fourth-round knockout over a faded Jose Luis Castillo. He moved up in weight to challenge Mayweather but couldn't handle either his speed or quickness, and didn't look good even while winning a decision over Lazcano.

Hatton's style won him plenty of fans back home, but it's also meant he's been in a lot of bruising fights, something that usually shortens careers. Still, he's 45-1 with 31 knockouts and can always be counted on to try his hardest, though there are many who say his habit of frequenting pubs and bloating up in weight between fights is taking a toll.

Malignaggi has his own problems, including a fragile right hand he broke in the sixth round of his last fight against Lovemore N'dou on the same card as the Hatton fight at the City of Manchester stadium. Malignaggi came away with a split decision to salvage his fight against Hatton, but did little to bolster his reputation.

Hatton is a 2-1 favorite over Malignaggi, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., who dropped a bruising decision to Miguel Cotto in his biggest fight to date. A fighter who throws a lot of punches and is exceptionally accurate, Malignaggi's biggest problem is he has little power, scoring only five knockouts in his 25-1 career.

``If they're judging Paulie off his last two fights, they're in trouble,'' said Malignaggi's trainer, Buddy McGirt. ``You've got to deal with this ugly girl until you get the prom queen and he's at the big dance now.''