Boxing: Hatton swaps north for south to fight Oliveira

Ricky Hatton will defend his World Boxing Union version of the world light-welterweight title at the ExCel Exhibition Centre in London's Docklands on December 11, the first time he has fought in the capital since winning the title in March 2001.

His opponent Ray Oliveira may be 36 but he is quick, with a huge workrate, and is a challenger of genuine credibility who boasts a record of 47 victories in 58 professional contests including a victory four years ago over the current World Boxing Association light-welterweight champion Vivian Harris.

Hatton needs a victory to keep alive the chance of a meeting with the winner of the November 6 contest in the United States between Kostya Tszyu and Sharmba Mitchell, who are fighting for the International Boxing Federation crown and, more importantly, are ranked No1 and No2 in the world ahead of Hatton.