Boxing: Hatton win confirms pulling power while Witter waits in wings

The end thankfully came at the close of round nine when Aldo Rios decided that he had taken far too much punishment and that Ricky Hatton was without doubt just too good for him.

There were no big shocks in the outcome, but one thing that was noticeable about Hatton's latest defence of his World Boxing Union light-welterweight title at Manchester's MEN Arena was that the local fighter is beyond any doubt the best ticket-seller of his generation.

Once again, over 12,000 people paid to watch a fight that was only ever expected to be a gentle workout for Hatton in preparation for something special on 13 December, but the quality of Hatton's opposition seems to have no effect on his fans and they come out for a good night.

On Saturday night Rios was down in round one and again in round nine, and as he limped back to his corner it was clear that he was finished and that Hatton had come through another fight without a cut, clearing the way for a meeting against one of three or four fighters on a list that has been shuffled and reshuffled during the last 12 months.

If money was not a problem and contracts could be set aside, it is likely that Hatton would box somebody like Vivian Harris for the World Boxing Association title, but in modern boxing fights like that simply never take place. Harris is a decent champion, but not a popular attraction and for venturing to Manchester he would probably ask for more money than he has made in his 25 fights so far, because that is what happens when a promoter goes shopping for his best ticket-seller.

Perhaps one good thing that has emerged from a seemingly endless year of negotiations with various American light- welterweights is that Bradford's Junior Witter, who has followed Hatton pleading for a fight since the middle of last year, could get his chance in December.

A few minutes before Hatton defended his light-welterweight title for the 10th time, Witter appeared briefly in a two-round mismatch against Australia's Fred Kinuthia. Witter was booed from the moment he entered the arena until the moment he left by most of the 12,000 Hatton fans and that animosity would surely reap great financial reward at the box office if the two ever meet.

According to Frank Warren, who promotes both fighters, a fight between them is closer than ever and he has dispatched a tape of Witter's latest win to the New York headquarters of Showtime, the cable TV company, whose financial involvement is necessary to satisfy both fighters.

At the same time as Hatton and Witter were going through the motions and entertaining a good-natured crowd, Belfast's Damaen Kelly was facing a hostile reception in Barranquila, Colombia. Kelly was trying to win the International Boxing Federation flyweight title from Irene Pacheco in a fight that was always destined to be difficult and so it proved, with Kelly retiring after six one-sided and painful rounds.