Hatton relinquished
his IBF belt on 29 March 2006 after refusing to fulufil a mandatory
defence against number one conternder Naoufel Ben Rabah because
he intended to move up to the welterweight class. Hatton signed a
three fight contract with Dennis Hobson's fight academy after splitting
from long time promoter Frank Warren. The three fights would take
place in the United States.
Welterweight
Hatton vs Collazo
Hatton
moved up a division to meet American Luis Collazo for the WBA Welterweight
Championship crown which took place on 13 May 2006. Hatton won the
WBA crown from Collazo but struggled. Hatton started well, knocking
Collazo down in the very first few seconds of the first round, but
it turned out to be one of the toughest fights of his career, with
some boxng analysts claiming Collazo won the fight, although many
thought Hatton had done enough early on to secure victory, with the
knockdown a pivotal point in the fight.
Return to Light Welterweight
Hatton
vs Urango
Hatton's first fight back at light welterweight was against
then IBF Light Welterweight Champion Juan Urango for his title and
the vacant IBO Light Welterweight title on 20 January 2007 in Las
Vegas, Nevada. Hatton's promoter, Dennis Hobson, stated that the impetus
for moving back down was to set up a fight with Jose Luis Castillo,
a fighter who nearly beat Foyd Mayweather Jr. at lightweight in 2002.
Hatton ended up winning a 12 round unanimous decision against Urango
to re-capture the IBF Light Welterweight title. He won all but one
round on all three judges' scorecards. Castillo, who was on the undercard,
also won (via split decision), setting up their long-awaited fight.
Hatton was forced to relinquish his IBF title again on
10 February to be able to fight Castillo. The fight was held on 23
June 2007, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. In
round four, Hatton landed a "perfect" left hook to the liver, which
put Castillo to the canvas. Hatton later claimed that 4 of Castillo's
ribs were broken with this one punch. Unable to stand up, Castillo
was counted out for the first time in his career.
Return to welterweight
Hatton
vs Mayweather Jr.
Hatton agreed to terms of 27 July for an 8 December
2007 weterweight fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. which was considered
to be the biggest welterweight fight since the 1999 clash between
Oscar De La Hoya and Puerto Rican legend Tito Trinidad. The MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas was announced as the venue on 17 August
2007. The fight was agreed to less than three months after Mayweather
has said he planned to retire following a victory over Oscar De La
Hoya. Hatton was able to bring the fight to Mayweather in the early
rounds. In the 1st round, Hatton caught Mayweather with a left jab
which knocked Mayweather offf balance. His constant pressure appeared
to make Mayweather uncomfortable at first. In the third round, Mayweather
landed a right that cut Hatton above the right eye. In round six,
referee joe Cortez took a point away from Hatton after he appeared
to hit Mayweather on the back of the head while Mayweather was rested
between the ropes. However, the punch was revealed to have hit the
rope rather than Mayweather's head.