Beloved British boxing star Ricky Hatton, who knows a thing or two about a title defense in front of a large home crowd, is expecting big things out of countryman Kell Brook.
Brook (33-0, 22 KOs), 28, will defend his welterweight world title for the first time on Saturday (Showtime, 6:15 p.m. ET) at his hometown venue, the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield, England. He will face mandatory challenger Jo Jo Dan (34-2, 18 KOs), 33, of Montreal.
“I was very impressed with the way Kell won his world title,” Hatton said of Brook’s strong performance against Shawn Porter in Carson, California, to win a 147-pound belt in August. “I know as well as anyone how hard it is to go to America and beat one of their champions and, although it was quite a close fight, Kell was exceptional. He's had a few problems out of the ring in the past couple of months (a leg injury suffered in a stabbing last fall), but that's just made him hungrier for success and it seems like everyone in Sheffield is getting behind him now.
“A lot of people might not know much about his opponent, but you don't get to be a mandatory challenger without being a world class fighter and he'll give his all. That said, I think Kell will shine and then move on to those big fights he's chasing for later in the year.”
Hatton is the former junior welterweight world champion, a former welterweight titlist and one of the most popular British fighters in history. He drew sold-out crowds to arenas in England, particularly in his hometown of Manchester, but also had his biggest fights in the United States, winning his welterweight belt in Boston against Luis Collazo and losing by knockout to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas mega fights.
A Brook win could put him in position for an eventual unification fight with the Mayweather-Pacquiao winner.
Hatton retired for good in 2012 and is now a promoter. He is expected to be at Saturday’s fight in Sheffield because one of the boxers he works with, promising Sheffield middleweight Adam Etches (18-0, 15 KOs) is on the undercard against Ukraine’s Sergey Khomitsky (29-11-3, 12 KOs).
“This is a very tough fight for Adam,” Hatton said. “Khomitsky has mixed it with all the top middleweights and it isn't that long ago he gave Martin Murray a hell of a fight.
“I think this is a chance for Adam to really show what he's capable of. Everyone knows how hard he hits, but with this guy he'll have to use his boxing skills as well. People don't usually pick Khomitsky as an opponent so this shows how confident Adam is.”