Hatton v Mayweather
Date: Sunday, 9 December
Starts from: 0100 GMT
Location: Las Vegas
Watch: Sky pay-per-view
Listen: BBC Radio 5 Live
Updates: BBC Sport website and mobile
Ricky Hatton had to be pulled apart from Floyd Mayweather in a post-press conference melee in Las Vegas.
“There’s a time to laugh and joke and be my usual sarcastic self but the fight’s two days away now and I’ve done my laughing and joking,” said Hatton.
“When I leaned on him he said, ‘don’t touch me’. I gave him a ‘you’re dead’ gesture then I smiled. If he’s annoyed at that wait till the bell rings.”
The pair fight for the WBC welterweight crown on Saturday night.
Hatton is convinced he has managed to get under the skin of a fighter who clearly revels in his enormous self-confidence and seemed visibly perturbed by his rival’s antics.
Hope it’s going to be fireworks on Saturday
“I think Floyd preys on that confidence and that’s why he did it. I think it’ll hurt him more than me. I’ll go away and forget about it now but I think he might be seething,” he added.
Mayweather spent most of the news conference with his every move being cheered by a handful of followers who help massage the fighter’s confidence each day.
Earlier he had revealed how he believed his tumultuous formative years would help give him an edge over Hatton, who experienced a relatively serene upbringing in Hattersley, near Manchester.
Mayweather said: “I don’t think Ricky Hatton’s ever seen his father shot. I don’t think Ricky Hatton’s been on drugs, I don’t think his dad’s been to prison.
“I come from a neighbourhood where people dying is normal. To come from that life and fight my way to the top, I think that’s one hell of an accomplishment.
“I truly believed in myself when nobody believed in me. I don’t think it’s cocky, it’s just super-confident. When everybody was doubting me, I never complained, I never cried. I just kept proving them wrong.
“Sometimes people portray you the way they want to,” added Mayweather.
I truly believed in myself when nobody believed in me. I don’t think it’s cocky, it’s just super-confident.
“The pen and the mouth are strong weapons. Are you judging me by what you see on TV, or what you hear through hearsay, or do you really want to get a chance to see the real Floyd Mayweather?
“They didn’t talk about the 600 families I fed on Thanksgiving, or the toy drive I’m having for families who are less fortunate. They don’t talk about that, do they.
“But I know who I am as a person. If I can afford 10 cars, then I’ll buy 10 cars. Just because I’m fighting a guy who may have one car, does that mean I’m saying I’m better than him? Not at all.
“I live my life the way I live it, and he lives his life the way he lives it. If he wants to buy one car, it’s up to him. If he wants to drink beer and throw darts, that’s his life. My life’s a little bit different.
“But just because we live our lives in two different ways, that doesn’t mean one is better than the other. I feel that everybody is equal. And I live my life the way I live my life.”
Source: Hatton steps up Mayweather heat
