Boxing: Warren furious as Tszyu jumps the gun over Hatton bout

John Rawling
Monday January 10, 2005
The Guardian

The long-awaited showdown between the world No1 light welterweight Kostya Tszyu and the undefeated Mancunian Ricky Hatton is set to take place in Manchester on June 4, even though promoter Frank Warren last night accused the Tszyu camp of prematurely announcing the contest before details had been confirmed and contracts signed.

On his website, the Russian-born Australian national announced a 4am start for the bout, which will probably take place at Manchester's MEN Arena, and disclosed that he would be paid in the region of $5m (£2.7m) to surrender home advantage to the challenger for his International Boxing Federation version of the world title.

"It feels good that a deal has been done for my next fight. It gives me focus for the year ahead," said the 35-year-old.