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Yanks a lot

24/ 1/2007

RICKY Hatton has been warned he faces one of his toughest tests yet when he returns to Las Vegas for a fight against Jose Luis Castillo in June.

While Hatton was busy seeing off Juan Urango to lift the IBF and IBO light-welterweight belts, Castillo laboured his way to a split decision win over Hernan Ngoudjo on the Paris Casino undercard.

The Thomas and Mack Convention Centre has been set aside for the Hatton-Castillo contest with either June 2 or June 23 ready to be named as the fight date.

Hatton said: "If you want to watch a chess match then (Oscar) De La Hoya versus (Floyd) Mayweather is the one to see. But if you want to see two guys knock the hell out of each other, come and watch us.

"It will be an honour to share the ring with Jose. You only become a great fighter if you share the ring with other great fighters, and that is exactly what Jose is."

However, Castillo countered: "Ricky and I are both the types of fighters people enjoy seeing.

"Ricky belongs in the group with myself, Corrales and Arturo Gatti as fighters who will always bring excitement.

"We are entertainers and the public want to see us fight because they know we will bring so much action and excitement.

"I am getting ready for five more fights before I retire. I need to make sure they are all big exciting fights and a fight with Ricky is just right for me."

While Hatton claimed 119-109 verdicts on all three judges' scorecards, a handful of pundits again questioned his habits away from the ring.

Having seen the Hitman dominated the first half of the fight, they claimed his stamina waned as the rounds mounted up.

Hatton said: "I felt quite comfortable for the first six rounds then the red mist set up and I probably made it harder work than I should have done.

"Juan caught me with some good shots and sometimes you have just got to suck them up and survive the moment. Despite the scorecards he was always in the fight and it was never going to be easy."

Click on the links below for video coverage from Las Vegas