Mayweather has Hatton under cosh

The British boxer Ricky Hatton and his new coach Floyd Mayweather Sr.

ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE // Ricky Hatton had no time to celebrate his 30th birthday on Monday. His new trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr, made sure of that. The veteran trainer joined Hatton's camp only on Friday and wasn't wasting any time before the fighter defends his IBO light welterweight title against Paulie Malignaggi in Las Vegas on Nov 22.

The second day of Mayweather's arduous programme began on Monday at 6am by attaching dumb-bells to Hatton's hands for an eight-kilometre (five-mile) run in northern England. "Floyd was side by side with me all the way - in a Range Rover I might add - saying, 'Come on, jab, jab, step off, one-two'." said Hatton. "It was hard because it's very hilly where I live. As soon as we got back to my house, he jumped out of the car and we did a little bit of sparring."

Hatton split with trainer Billy Graham after 11 years following his first defeat in a 44-fight career last December in Las Vegas - to Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mayweather Sr, estranged from his son, was critical of the guidance Graham had offered Hatton. "You can do the same training Billy did, maybe better," Mayweather said at Hatton's new gym. "Go get yourself a pillow at home and let Ricky hit you - that's all he did. Ricky's got here on his own. [Graham] calls himself a trainer, I call him 'Silly Billy'.

"He should have left Billy earlier, a whole lot of years ago. You will see a different Ricky, trust me. I'm teaching him things he's never done before. "I'm teaching him how to punch back, chested shots and let his hands go back." Hatton said he knew it was time to leave when Graham began receiving painkilling injections in his hands. "He didn't want to admit to himself that the time had come to finish," Hatton said. "Everyone was telling me to leave Billy earlier and I think it's clear because, slowly but surely, everyone was leaving Billy. I couldn't do it because I had such a close relationship with him."

Mayweather has trained Oscar De La Hoya, Chad Dawson and Joan Guzman to world titles, and Hatton knows his own style needs to be refined under the trainer. "Floyd will slow me down and show me how to look after myself defensively a bit," Hatton said. "Everyone Floyd has worked with has turned around and said he's the best and improved them. "With a new training camp, that might breathe a whole new lease of life into me. It's only because I turned professional so young that people ask when I'm going to retire. You might see my performances get better than they've ever been so I'd be a fool to hang my gloves up. Time will tell."

Hatton wants to challenge the winner of the De La Hoya-Manny Pacquiao fight on Dec 6, while a rematch with Mayweather Jr is also on the horizon. "I'd like to fight Floyd Jr again," said Hatton. "I think he'll come of retirement after the De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight. Floyd is all about controversy and he'll want to come out and do it. I'm pretty certain of that." * AP