Graham evokes spirit of Duran

RICKY HATTON will evoke the spirit of Roberto Duran in his quest to become the first man to defeat Floyd Mayweather and establish himself as the number one pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

That is the view of Hatton’s trainer Billy Graham, who said news of a verbal agreement between representatives of Hatton and Mayweather for a December fight in Las Vegas is “a dream come true”. Contracts are expected to be signed in the coming days for a fight which is set to earn Hatton around £8million, and Mayweather much more. It is expected to take place on December 8 in Las Vegas.

Referring to Duran’s famous win over Sugar Ray Leonard in their first fight in Montreal in 1980, when Duran lured his opponent into a brawl and claimed a points win, Graham said: “This is Ricky’s Sugar Ray Leonard fight.