In 2007, when Ricky Hatton fought Floyd Mayweather, Las Vegas was the unrivalled capital of boxing. The best fighters in the sport took up residency there. But it had never seen anything like Ricky Hatton's takeover of the desert city.

Somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 Hatton supporters travelled to the Strip for the event, even though the venue that would host the fight, the MGM Garden Arena, only had a capacity of just over 16,000.

By midweek, even at 4am, the chants of his fans were still echoing through the corridors of the MGM.

Hatton had built an incredible fanbase as he had risen through the UK boxing scene and become the super-lightweight world champion. His popularity snowballed when the British phenomenon came to America.

Hatton had his first fight in the US, and stepped up

See Full Page