RICKY HATTON has already taken the first round against Manny Pacquiao by getting the referee he wanted.

RICKY HATTON has already taken the first round against Manny Pacquiao by getting the referee he wanted.

Pacquiao's camp wanted Joe Cortez as the man in the middle and asked the Nevada State Athletic Commission to put him in charge.

Cortez was covered in controversy for the way he handled Hatton's clash against Floyd Mayweather junior who knocked out the Hitman in the 10th round.

But Kenny Bayliss, who handled Hatton's last win against Paulie Malignaggi, will officiate on Saturday night.

Meanwhile all tickets have been sold and promoters are now arranging venues up and down the Strip to screen the bout on closed circuit TV.

Hatton will be backed by thousands of his fans inside the MGM Garden Arena on Saturday night.

Dad Ray, his manager, revealed: "We've sold almost 10,000 tickets back home in Manchester and the travel agent has had to delay his arrival here to deal with everything.

"We've asked our agents in Las Vegas to organise CCTV sales until he gets here."

Hatton is good for Vegas business with around 20,000 tickets for CCTV coverage available from one end of the Strip to the other, generating around £7million alone

Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/boxing/article2400727.ece

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