Everyone knew it was happening, but now it’s official. Ricky Hatton will take on Paul Malignaggi for the IBF light-welterweight title in Las Vegas on 22nd November. Now there is a date to the fight, the real talk about who is going to emerge victorious can begin.

One of the main topics, of course, will be whether Hatton can get into shape in the three months he has to train. He normally does, but it will be interesting to see how he fairs without his trainer Billy Graham who was relieved of his duties earlier this week. Maybe he will get into better shape under a new regime, who knows!

The November fight will be Hatton’s fourth in Las Vegas and the first time he has returned since suffering his only career defeat to Floyd Mayweather last December. The Hitman has described it as a ‘second home’ and will presumably be looking to use the Malignaggi fight to put the Mayweather defeat behind him once and for all.

Although Malignaggi is differing in style to Mayweather, I get the impression he is going to openly promote his chances of beating Hatton in the pre-fight press conferences in the same way that the ‘Pretty Boy’ did. Maybe not to the same extreme, but Malignaggi is certainly a rather arrogant individual.

Although, to be honest, he hardly backed up this type of talk in his fight against Lovemore N’Dou in May on the Hatton v Juan Lazcano undercard. Before the fight he said he was there to ‘entertain’ and to show everybody what he is all about. Well, all I saw was a man with ridiculous hair that had to work much harder for a victory than he should have done.

Despite this, he is a talented boxer and has received praise from a lot of boxing experts including Oscar de la Hoya who believes he will test Ricky Hatton to the maximum come November. De La Hoya said the two fighters contrasting styles should create ‘great drama’. As for where his boxing betting money would be placed, he was unsure, but the ‘Golden Boy’ is certainly anticipating an intriguing contest.

I have to say I agree. It should be a great night for boxing. I am far from convinced that Hatton will win, but he is still favourite in my view. I just hope that this ‘great drama’ that De La Hoya speaks of, occurs more prominently in the ring rather than in the press conferences leading up to the fight.

Written by Thomas Rooney - A freelance sports journalist