Hatton approves Vegas as fight site

Ricky Hatton has finally given up his bid to bring his May 2 showdown with Manny Pacquiao to England, his home country.

The pride of Manchester has finally agreed to fight the pride of the Philippines in the Sin City of Las Vegas.

According to an LA Times article, the fight venue was the final stumbling block to the anticipated showdown between the two sluggers.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer was quoted as saying that his meeting with Top Rank’s Bob Arum this week in Las Vegas would determine the fight venue.

And it’s a choice between the Thomas and Mack Center or MGM Grand.

“Ricky’s preference was the UK but he realized that was not the best place for this fight, just like the Philippines wasn’t,” Schaefer was quoted by the LA Times as saying.

Hatton had wanted to hold the fight at the Wembley Stadium before a hundred thousand fans. Pacquiao said he has no trouble going there for the 140-pound title fight.

But Arum, right from the start, said it was not “economically” wise to hold the fight in the UK because “we had to stage the fight at five in the morning” to make it primetime in the US.

Wembley Stadium being an open-air venue, Arum added, was another factor, because there’s always “90 percent of rain.”

Hatton has lost only once in 46 fights (to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in December of 2007). He has fought 38 times in the UK although four of his last five fights were staged in Las Vegas.

Schaefer said both fighters are close to signing the fight contract.

Arum told The STAR recently that there’s “no more concerns” about staging the fight, and that the sharing of the purse shouldn’t be a problem, although he did not give the details.

“We’re come to a point where everybody is satisfied,” said Arum, adding that both fighters stand to earn more than their previous fights.