It seems that all the pre-match focus is about who Ricky Hatton will face next, but he still has a job to do on Saturday night when he returns to Manchester to face Juan Lazcano in front of 55,000 adoring fans. Rumours of a mega UK bout with former WBC Champ Junior Witter and a re-match with Floyd Mayweather have dominated the build-up: one thing it seems everyone is agreed on is that Hatton will win the fight. He is a best priced 1/9 to defeat the 33 year-old Mexican and set up a contest with IBF Champion Paulie Malignaggi in America.

In a thinly-veiled dig at Witter (who lost his WBC Crown to Tim Bradley earlier this month), the Hitman stated that “everyone knows Lazcano, some fighters are fighting someone no-one’s heard of.” But the IBO Junior Welterweight challenger hasn’t fought for over a year and in his last bout (February 07) was defeated on points by Vivian Harris, who has since been knocked out in a bout with the now deposed Witter.

He may have been handpicked by Hatton’s camp but Lazcano is not the mug the English press make him out to be. Still a top 10 ranked Light-Welterweight, he is a former WBF, NABF and IBA Lightweight title holder and has won 37 of 42 professional bouts. And having highly- respected trainer Ronnie Shields in his corner is sure to have been a massive plus over his 9 week camp in California.

This is not to say that he can pull off one of the great upsets on Saturday, just that he is not to be taken lightly.

With the match odds out of the equation it looks like this one may go at least to the later rounds, if not the distance. Lazcano struggled against Harris in Las Vegas when his opponent was moving freely in the early stages and he is very much an ‘inside fighter’ who likes to get close to his man and work the body (and sometimes below the belt line).

Fortunately for him, Hatton is not the quick moving type; a grinder like Lazcano, but a far superior one. Lazcano himself has admitted that the fight will be a battle of attrition between two very similar styles.

Interestingly, only 1 of Hatton’s last 7 fights have ended with a knockout earlier than round 9 and this demonstrates not only the Mancunians granite chin but also his ability to wear opponents down. And only 1 of the last 8 Lazcano fights have ended before the ninth.

Both fighters’ win to KO margins (Hatton 31/43 to Lazcano 27/37) are nothing special by boxing standards and as a result the selection is Hatton on points. This is assuming his challenger is in his best shape, which his camp insist he is.

But a bigger price fancy is Hatton in rounds 10-12. It takes advantage of either mans ability to go deep and if the Mexican’s year long absence from the ring has made him slightly rusty, this would be the time for the Hitman to strike and send his fans home happy at another title shot across the pond.