Ricky Hatton will make an emotional return to the Manchester Arena when he faces Mexican boxing great Marco Antonio Barrera in an exhibition contest on Saturday.
Former two-weight world champion Hatton thrilled the masses at his hometown venue throughout the first decade of this century and, at 44, he is returning alongside Barrera in a bout to help raise funds and awareness for mental health causes.
At Friday’s weigh-in, Hatton stunned onlookers with his body transformation as he tipped the scales at 159.9 lbs, with Barrera weighing 161 lbs for the scheduled eight-rounder.
Before the two veterans enter the ring, a packed card of championship boxing will take place, headed by Natasha Jonas and Marie-Eve Dicaire’s world super-welterweight unification.
The Sporting News will provide live coverage of Hatton vs. Barrera, as well as the rest of the card
Ricky Hatton vs. Marco Antonio Barrera round-by-round results, highlights
Viddal Riley beats Ross McGuigan (UD 10)
8:35 p.m. GMT/3:35 p.m. ET: Lovely scenes as Denny and Rea conduct their post-fight interview with their arms around one another. Rea admits the better man won, Denny concedes his opponent “tickled him” a few times before that left hook to the midsection that threatened to change everything. They look like they might share a drink or two afterwards and, boy, have they earned it after an absorbing domestic scrap.
8:33 p.m. GMT/3:33 p.m. ET: It’s a deserved win for Denny, who gets it 95-94 (twice) and 97-92 on the cards. Those 95-94 cards are a bit ridiculous. Rea will have learned plenty in defeat there and, although there will be a temptation to chase a rematch after the thrills and spills of round nine, it should be a case of back to the drawing board for the 24-year-old Manchester man.
8:30 p.m. GMT/3:30 p.m. ET: Denny gets on his bike to ride out the storm, moving well to keep out of harm’s way. By the final minute of the round he was back to pot-shotting Rea effectively. We’ll go to the cards. Denny embraces his corner at the end. He knows he came through hell there.
Huge drama as @bradrea_ unleashes hell on @Tnd91Denny as a left to the body unlocks the defences 🔓 🔥#FightNightManchester | 12 Nov | AO Arena, Manchester | @SkySportsBoxing pic.twitter.com/SDt0SqSKID
— BOXXER (@boxxer) November 12, 2022
8:26 p.m. GMT/3:26 p.m. ET: Drama in round nine! Rea finds a brutal body shot that has Denny all over the place! It’s a left hook and it’s removed the air from Denny’s sails. What a turnaround this would be! The referee misses a low one form the challenger. Denny is in huge trouble. A big right hand to finish from Rea just before the bell. The champion gets out of the round but this no longer feels like a formality.
8:24 p.m. GMT/3:24 p.m. ET: Barring a dramatic turnaround or something truly absurd on the cards, Denny is two rounds away from retaining his title. Rea landed a couple of right hands high on the head to discomfort the champion in the eighth but those were his first notable moments of success for some time. Towards the end of rounds six and seven, the more experienced Denny started to unload effectively to body and head, making this a painful lesson for the man seven years his junior.
Punishing combinations from @Tnd91Denny as he lands a brutal uppercut 💥#FightNightManchester | 12 Nov | AO Arena, Manchester | @SkySportsBoxing pic.twitter.com/JQiSOxR1Vi
— BOXXER (@boxxer) November 12, 2022
8:10 p.m. GMT/3:10 p.m. ET: Halfway through the scheduled 10 and things are looking very good for the champion. Rea has had moments of success in each round, most recently with a short left uppercut in round five, but Denny is continuing to measure him with that long left hand, while also scoring with greater frequency to the body. Rea looked to turn into into a bit of a firefight in the previous session and came off second best.
7:58 p.m. GMT/2:58 p.m. ET: Problems for the challenger through two rounds. Rea is huge at the weight and is looking to catch the shorter Denny coming in with the uppercut He’s had some success in that regard and also landed a nice left to the body in the second before veering too low downstairs. But the story of the fight so far is the southpaw Denny finding a home for his back hand. Rea is too static with too little head movement and a couple of stiff left hands have snapped his head back.
7:48 p.m. GMT/2:48 p.m. ET: Next up we have some local interest in an intriguing scrap for the English middleweight title. Unbeaten Mancunian Brad Rea (nickname Sting, lovely stuff!) is challenging Tyler Denny in the Birmingham man’s first defence.
Viddal Riley beats Ross McGuigan (KO 3)
7:33 p.m. GMT/2:33 p.m. ET: McGuigan, himself a novice pro, came out upright and with his hands down against a confident opponent throwing heavy right hands. That ultimately panned out about as well as you’d expect. After steadying his foe a couple of times during the opening session, Riley drove McGuigan towards the ropes in the third, attacked the body initially and finished the job with a looping right hook over the top. The Londoner moves on to 7-0, with four wins inside the distance.
7:15 p.m. GMT/2:15 p.m. ET: It’s almost 10 years since Hatton boxed as a professional at the Manchester Arena and more than 17 since his seismic victory over pound-for-pound star Kostya Tszyu thrilled his hometown crowd and sent the all-action super-lightweight on the path to global stardom. It’s been an up-and-down road since then, but there will be few dry eyes in the house when Ricky makes his ringwalk at around 11 p.m local time tonight for an exhibition against the great Barrera.
Before that, we have the serious business of some competitive action involving fighters at the other end of their journey in the sport. Unbeaten cruiserweight Viddal Riley is in the ring for a scheduled six-rounder against Ross McGuigan.
7:00 p.m. GMT/2:00 p.m. ET: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of Ricky Hatton and Marco Antonio Barrera’s exhibition bout in Manchester.
How to watch Ricky Hatton vs. Marco Antonio Barrera
Fans can watch Hatton against Barrera on Sky Sports Arena.
Sky Sports subscriptions as part of a Sky package start at £46 a month, with a contract-free deal for the broadcaster’s 11 sports channels only available through Now TV for £33 a month.
Ricky Hatton vs. Marco Antonio Barrera live stream
Subscribers will also be able to watch the fight on mobile devices via the Sky Go app.
Ricky Hatton vs. Marco Antonio Barrera fight card
- Ricky Hatton v Marco Antonio Barrera; eight-round middleweight exhibition.
- Natasha Jonas (c) vs Marie-Eve Dicaire (c); WBC, WBO and IBF super-welterweight unification.
- Dalton Smith (c) vs Kaisee Benjamin; British super-lightweight title.
- Tyler Denny vs Brad Rea; 10 rounds, English middleweight title.
- Frazer Clarke vs Kamil Sokolowski; heavyweight contest.
- Dylan Cheema vs Jordan Ellison; six-round lightweight contest.
- Viddal Riley bt. Ross McGuigan; KO (3/6)
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