Ricky Hatton believes that his son, Campbell Hatton, is not far away from earning a shot at a title.
The 22-year-old lightweight fights on the Jack Catterall vs. Jorge Linares card this Saturday, and has 13 wins to his name after staying unbeaten.
Hatton has stayed active in 2023, and this will be his seventh fight of the year. Hatton continues to gain experience, and his father - a former world champion - believes that he is edging towards a title fight.
Speaking to Casino Canada, he praised his son, saying: “He’s made big progress, I think he needed to as well. He was improving but not at the rate me and his trainer Matthew would’ve liked.
“He got told some hard home truths and it’s a little bit of tough love telling him ‘he’s not doing this, he’s not doing that’.
“He’s done it and that shows his dedication, how much he’s listening and how much he wants. His last few performances have been fantastic.
“He’s had a couple of first round KO wins, he’s had a stoppage win where he had a nightmare tricky opponent where he had to think about things and he’s improved his intelligence in the ring and he got his first eight-rounder in the ring.”
He added that he could see titles in the near future, saying: “In his last few fights I couldn’t be happier.
“He’s put himself in a position for his first title whether that’s a Central Area or an English title, and if the right opponent came along then I speak for myself and Matthew, Eddie Hearn and Matchroom, we are all at agreement that it might be time to take the first step.”
Catterall vs. Linares is live on DAZN on October 21 (excluding Australia and New Zealand).