The 28th March was the date of ‘Manchester Magic’ which was another Hatton promotions event, held at Altrincham Leisure centre. Headlining the event was the younger of the Hatton brothers, Matthew Hatton, in a potential eliminator for the vacant IBO Welterweight championship against ‘Dangerous’ Ted Bami. The last time I had seen Matthew in the ring, was against fellow mancunian Craig Watson on the undercard of Hatton vs Lazcano at the Manchester City stadium. In that fight Matthew looked strong, but also one dimensional, and had no answer for what Craig Watson brought to the ring. In this fight, Matthew looked much more composed, and took his time with a cautious start against a dangerous fighter. The fight ended with a powerful punch to the solar plexus from Matthew; it was a short punch that was missed by most of the attending fans but was thankfully repeated on the many screens around the ring. Ricky Hatton was also seen supporting his brother from ringside, despite the fact he will soon be flying to Vegas to finish his preparations for the upcoming super fight with Manny Pacquiao.

Matthew associated his losses and stop-start career to not changing trainer sooner. As with Ricky, Matthew was coached by trainer Billy Graham. He said that he wasn’t happy with some of his performances, but he was winning fights so stayed with Billy longer than he should have.

I should have moved trainers sooner as I just wasn’t getting enough coaching with Billy [Graham]. I know I have done the right thing moving to Lee [Beard], since being full time with Lee my performances in the ring have improved massively. I am faster and stronger and I feel that I am improving all the time.

Overall the event was a huge success. The Hattons are all to familiar with high quality shows, and this was no exception. The event followed the UFC format in a lot of ways, including:

- Music in between fights
- Huge TV displays around the ring for showing replays, videos in between fights etc
- Ringcard girls
- Good quality programmes

Additionally, the event was arranged with Jane Couch who is now working closely with the Hattons, and Hatton promotions. She has been very influential to boxing over the years, and no doubt she was largely responsible for the match ups with the fighters. Apart from some late stand-ins, the fights were all well matched and provided some close and entertaining fights. One of which was the pro debut of Joe Murray (the Olympian) against veteran fighter Sid Razak. Sid is a tough and tricky journey man, but Joe won a unanimous decision in an energetic fight. Other noticeable fights included good wins for Scott Quigg, Rhys Roberts and Alfonso Vierya.

Finally, Hatton promotions showed that they have their finger truely on the pulse with the introduction of www.hattonboxing.tv. Thousands of fans tuned in online to watch the fight, in what can only be described as a turning point for boxing. More on this soon…