Boxing: Hatton's big push sees a legend now fighting his corner.

Byline: By MARK STANIFORTH reporting from Las Vegas 

THE seemingly irresistible momentum behind Ricky Hatton as he approaches the biggest fight of his career received another big push yesterday when former pound-for-pound king Bernard Hopkins backed the "Hit Man" to reign supreme.

Floyd Mayweather may claim opinions mean nothing when the pair step into the MGM Grand Garden ring in the early hours of Sunday morning, but the words of a modern great like Hopkins carry significant weight.

He compared Hatton's furious, yet multi-faceted come-forward approach to that of the legendary Henry Armstrong and believes his stamina will help him maintain his pace.

Hopkins said: "Ricky Hatton is like the Energiser Bunny. I have never seen the man get tired. I am looking for some blood from Ricky early on but at the end of the day he out-hustles Mayweather for a unanimous decision.

"Hatton is not just a slugger. There's a difference between a guy who is going to put pressure on you and is willing to take four or five punches to give one or two. That's not Hatton.

"Ricky Hatton is willing to be that slugger but he is also willing to throw punches in bunches and that is rare in boxing today. Henry Armstrong fought that way. That is dangerous guy as you can't keep him off you."

Hopkins, who reigned unbeaten as world middleweight champion for a decade and is now in line for a light-heavyweight scrap with Joe Calzaghe, also believes May-weather's perceived over-confidence could prove crucial.

"It is a fight for Ricky to win and Floyd to lose," added Hopkins. "Everybody knows Floyd can fight, but how do you still fight like a hungry man when your refrigerator's full?

"How do you separate yourself from 'Dancing With The Stars' (a show on which Mayweather recently appeared), the undefeated record, the six or seven belts, and when do you become mentally soft and spiritually soft?

"It's a dangerous line to carry. That's the biggest factor in who wins and who loses. Who will be able to suck it up and forget about the belts and the zeroes in your T column? Who will cross that line and knock on the door of greatness?"

Hopkins' illuminating opinion of the fight falls in line with the enormous belief which has grown up around Hatton this week, best underlined by his ability to clearly rile Mayweather during the press conference head-to-head.

More than pounds 10m is expected to be bet on Hatton in England alone, while a replica BBC Sports Personality of the Year trophy has already been sent to Las Vegas in case victory snares him the award on Sunday night.

Many thousands of Hatton supporters continue to check into the Strip hotels, leading promoter Oscar De La Hoya to admit he had not seen anything like it since the Mexican invasions in support of the great Julio Cesar Chavez.

Those Mexicans only had to get in their cars and drive a few hundred miles across the border. Hatton has persuaded around 15,000 fans to cross the Atlantic - and only 3,000 of them have tickets.

Hatton believes his shoving match with Mayweather after the Press conference revealed a psychological flaw in the champion's make-up which he will be able to exploit.

"He's got his uncle who says he's the greatest trainer the world's ever seen, his father who says he's the greatest trainer the world's ever seen, and him saying he's the greatest fighter the world's ever seen," Hatton said.

"Everyone around him says they're the greatest. So when you get in there and suddenly your back's against the wall, it becomes a shock to the system.

"I know his game. He wants to get an edge. That's his game - intimidation, mind games and all that. But he's not going to intimidate me."

CAPTION(S):

Floyd Mayweather (left) and Ricky Hatton get involved in a scuffle on Wednesday night; Legend Bernard Hopkins