Mayweather, Hatton don’t make nice

Things were too civil to be true in the final news conference to promote Saturday night's world welterweight title fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Ricky Hatton at the MGM Grand Garden.

Even Roger Mayweather, Floyd's uncle and trainer, was nice, praising Hatton and keeping the profanity that usually fills his rambling diatribes to a few choice F-bombs.

But this is boxing, and when the fighters posed together for the cameras Wednesday and Mayweather started leaning on Hatton, the British fighter pushed back. They were quickly separated.

"He's trying to push me, and I'm not going to let him get away with that," Hatton said. "Maybe he was trying to get under my skin. Maybe he was trying to intimidate me.

"But I'm not going to put up with that."

Plenty of hype has been stirred for this fight between unbeaten boxers. The approximately 17,000 seats at the MGM Grand Garden sold out in less than a half-hour. Closed-circuit sales at the various MGM Mirage properties have been brisk, with the MGM ballroom sold out and more than 14,000 of an available 18,000 seats purchased.

But there's pay-per-view sales to push, and perhaps Mayweather thought he needed to spice things up by getting in Hatton's face after the news conference.

"It's just business," Mayweather said. "It's nothing. I've done this 20 times.

"Ricky Hatton has never faced anyone with the talent like I have. All those British fans coming to the fight are going to have the chance to be part of the 'Floyd Mayweather Experience.' "

Other than the face-off in front of photographers, more excitement was generated outside the ballroom where the fighters talked. Several hundred of Hatton's fans congregated outside, causing a ruckus with their chants for the fighter as security officials tried to keep the mob under control.

It was an unusual sight and perhaps a harbinger of things to come, starting Friday when the fighters weigh in at MGM Grand Garden. This probably will be the only chance that thousands of Hatton fans who came to Las Vegas without a ticket have to get inside the arena. In fact, the weigh-in could generate a sizable crowd because admission is free.

Hatton (43-0) appeared loose. He reiterated his pleasure with how his training camp went. He said he's mentally and physically ready to compete and be the first person to beat Mayweather (38-0), whose WBC welterweight title will be on the line.

"It would have been easy to stay home in my own backyard in my comfort zone," said Hatton, from Manchester, England. "But I wanted this fight. I wanted to come to the States and fight Floyd."

Mayweather, who remains the betting favorite at minus-230, said he also is ready.

"This is another fight for me, and I am totally prepared to do what I have to do Saturday night," he said. "All my opponents said they were going to beat me, too, and I'm still undefeated."

Mayweather noted Hatton has spent a lot of energy running his mouth in the buildup to the fight.

"When have you heard Ricky Hatton talk trash before?" Mayweather said. "He won't say it to my face, but in front of the cameras, he was really acting up.

"We did a five-city tour, and the only time he talked tough was when he was home in Manchester. Now he's talking tough on HBO's 24/7, too.

"You know what I call him? A 'camera gangster.' If I'm going to talk about you, I'm going to do it to your face, right in front of you."

Hatton said Mayweather would be wise to worry about himself. "One of us has to go, and mark my words, it won't be me," Hatton said. "I've spent years training for this fight. I'm not going to let my friends and family down."

Hatton then turned to Oscar De La Hoya, whose Golden Boy Promotions is co-promoting the fight.

"I've done enough talking," Hatton said. "I'll let Oscar come back to the mike and introduce Bruce Almighty."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@ reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2913.