I don't think any boxing match -- not even one as big as Ricky Hatton vs. Manny Pacquiao -- could sell out a football stadium in the United States. Boxing just isn't popular enough in the U.S. anymore to to get more than 80,000 fans in one venue like it did in the 1920s, when Jack Dempsey could sell out Soldier Field and the Polo Grounds.But in Europe it's another matter. When David Haye fights Wladimir Klitschko on June 20 at the Veltins-Arena in Germany, it's expected to draw about 60,000 fans. And Hatton thinks that if he were to fight back home in England instead of Las Vegas, he could draw even more spectators than that.
Counting his superfight with Pacquiao Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, six of Hatton's last seven fights have been in the United States. But Hatton said in a chat with FanHouse that he would love to return to England to fight, and he thinks he could even fill the enormous Wembley Stadium, which has a capacity of 90,000.
"I definitely want to fight in England again, and I think it would be a shame if I don't have a big fight back in Manchester, or certainly Wembley," Hatton said. "There's never been a fight at the new Wembley, and absolutely, I'd love to."
I'd love to see that. Hatton is a superstar in England, and his fans give his fights a unique atmosphere. Las Vegas is the fight capital of the world, but a Hatton return to England would be brilliant.
We'll have Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton results and a live blog Saturday night here at FanHouse.
