Man City fan Ricky Hatton picks Cristiano Ronaldo as dream celebrity boxing opponent
Ricky Hatton says he'd love to give Cristiano Ronaldo a slap after selecting the Manchester United legend as his dream celebrity boxing opponent.
The British former welterweight champion is a die-hard Manchester City fan and typically wore sky blue trunks, adorned with City's club crest, during his bouts. In an exclusive chat with Daily Star Sport, courtesy of Mighty Tips, Hatton was asked which celebrity or fictional character he'd most like to face in the ring, and he didn't need to think twice about his answer.
"Cristiano Ronaldo," he said immediately. "He used to play for Manchester United, United fans love him and he's good looking so why would you not want to give him a slap?
"I'd have to catch him first, but he was some player wasn't he? I hope I don't have to do as many step-overs on that ice like he does," the Hitman, who will take part in this year's Dancing on Ice, joked.
Hatton even had a venue in mind: Man City's Etihad Stadium. Though he conceded he might be tempted to swap Ronaldo out for boxing legend Roberto Duran, who won world titles in four different weight classes. He said: "Roberto Duran was my favourite of all-time, it'd have been interesting to have been in the ring with him and find out how good he was.
"It'd have been a very painful night in the ring but I think Cristiano Ronaldo or Roberto Duran would be my two dream matches, at the City of Manchester [Eithad Stadium]."
Ronaldo put the fear of God into opponents and opposition fans during his first spell at Old Trafford. The Portugal superstar fired United to three Premier League titles and a Champions League triumph, scoring 118 goals and winning the PFA Player of the Year award twice.
Ronaldo scored three times in nine Manchester derbies in that period, and was also sent off in one in 2008. During his second spell at the club he failed to register a single win over City, though he only featured in one of the three derby games.
Hatton, meanwhile, hung up his gloves in 2012 following back-to-back defeats to Manny Pacquiao and Vyacheslav Senchenko. Arguably the biggest fight of his career came in 2007 against Floyd Mayweather. Hatton was undefeated heading into the bout, but was ultimately outclassed by the American who stopped him in the 10th of the 12 rounds.
The Stockport-born fighter, who briefly came out of retirement in 2022 for a non-scored exhibition bout against Marco Antonio Barrera, is nonetheless one of the greatest British boxers of all time, and up with the finest welterweights of his generation. But would a career of immeasurable highs be topped by knocking Ronaldo out in front of 50,000 cheering City fans? Frustratingly, we'll probably never know.