Mayweather wants 'to shut up' Hatton

Floyd Mayweather looks set to come out of retirement to fight Ricky Hatton after he branded the Manchester 'Hitman' as "the most over-rated (fighter) in the last 25 years".

Hatton enhanced his reputation Stateside at the weekend with a stunning fourth-round victory over the highly-respected Jose Luis Castillo in Las Vegas to claim the IBF light-welterweight title.

Mayweather, long regarded by boxing experts as the best pound-for-pound boxer of his generation, is the man Hatton most wants to fight.

Indeed, he challenged the 30-year-old, who had said that last month's victory over Oscar de la Hoya would be his final bout, to a multi-million-pound 'super-fight' after beating Castillo last Saturday.

And Mayweather has responded, saying: "I've tried to let the things he said about me slide by but now he's 'dissing' me on national TV and I want to shut him up.

"I've never wanted to hurt an opponent like I do Hatton. For me, boxing is a science but it will be a pleasure to prove to the world what a great phoney the guy is."

He continued: "Ricky Hatton cannot fight. He cannot box. He throws one punch at a time and then holds. There is no skill to what he does in the ring. He has got zero skills.

"Ricky Hatton is the most over-rated fighter of the last 25 years. He beat an old (Kostya) Tszyu and he beat an old Castillo who was shot.

"I beat Castillo twice and the first time I did it with one hand because the other was so messed up. That was five years ago when Castillo was in his prime. I was retired but I'll sign to fight Hatton right now."

Meanwhile, another high-profile fight could also be on the cards with brash Brooklyn stylist Paulie Malignaggi, one of Hatton's successors as IBF light-welterweight champion, joining the race to be the Hitman's next opponent.

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