The moment of truth has arrived for Hatton (Getty Images)

Click here for big fight odds

Betting Box Tipping Guide

BETTING BOX
FIXED ODDS
	12pts win Kostya Tszyu to win via KO, TKO or Disqualification at 5/6 (bet365).	Massive puncher who has indicated he will go looking for Hatton - who won't be hard to find - early on.
	3pt win Ricky Hatton to beat Kostya Tszyu on points at 4/1 (Sporting Odds, Paddy Power).	Should 'The Hitman' weather the early barrage, he may have the skills and the legs to pull this one out.

Easily the biggest fight seen in Britain for over a decade takes place at the MEN Arena in Manchester in the early hours of Sunday morning, when 38-0 local hero Ricky 'The Hitman' Hatton goes in with undisputed light-weltwerweight ruler Kostya Tszyu.

Not since Nigel Benn fought Gerald McClellan in London has a fight generated so much media interest.

The fact that 22,000 tickets for the bout were snapped up within two hours of going on sale tells it's own story.

This is genuinely a fight not to be missed, that rarest of scraps that has captured the imagination of both those in the trade and the casual fan alike.

Hatton is quite simply by far and away the biggest draw in British boxing for a generation, while Tszyu is arguably the best boxer, pound-for-pound, in the sport today.

It's a classic fight between young pretender and ageing master, and sparks look sure to fly.

Tszyu has spoken this week of drawing the attacking Hatton into a wild, barroom brawl-style affair.

Hatton has recorded 22 of his 38 wins inside while Tszyu has stopped 25 out of his 32 opponents, so both are clearly punchers.

Tszyu said at a press conference this week: "We are not here to do the ballet - there is going to be a war. That is what people want to see and that is what they are going to see.

"I will not need to look for Ricky. He will come at me and that is the great thing about this fight and a great thing for me."

Indeed it might be.

'The Thunder From Down Under' is for me one of the hardest punchers in the sport.

The way he crushed Sharmba Mitchell after being out for almost two years in Phoenix last November was quite incredible.

Mitchell was rightly regarded at Tszyu's biggest rival at 10st at the time, yet he was smashed to the canvas four times in just three, savage rounds.

Proof, if proof was needed, that Tszyu remains a massive threat, even at the venerable age of 35.

Many are pointing to Tszyu's age as a factor in this fight, but I'm not convinced.

For nobody in the modern games trains more fanatically that Kostya, and his preparations often border on the obsessive.

He has been training in Bolton since arriving in England just under two weeks ago for the fight and has extensively viewed viedos of Hatton, so clearly isn't taking 'The Hitman' lightly.

The Russian-Australian was a decorated amateur and is as experience as they come, so I can't see him being intimidated in the bear-pit atmosphere of the MEN.

As for choosing a winner, opinion is divided.

It's fair to say that Tszyu hasn't been in a real dogfight for years, and you wonder just how those old bones will hold old when Hatton is rattling them like a drum to the body?

That's just one of several imponderables surrounding the fight.

From a betting standpoint, do punters go with the superior skill, punching power and experience of Tszyu over the youth, strength, and sheer enthusiasm of Hatton.

There is much to be said for siding with the youthful exuberance of 'The Hitman', who will be desperate to put on a show for his adoring fans.

Yet nagging in the back of my mind are the following:

1 - Ricky was dropped inside a round and hurt after that by the relatively light-punching Eamonn Magee back in 2002, and has been stunned (albeit briefly) by men such as Vince Phillips and Ben Tackie since.

2 - Hatton's fragile skin continues to be a worry.

3 - Hatton's power is perhaps a little over-rated.

That last point may prove contentious with the pro-Hatton brigade, but there is no doubt in my mind that Tszyu is the puncher in this fight.

Hatton hasnt stopped anyone with a single shot in a long time, and I don't think Kostya will stay in range long enough for Hatton to unload those fearsome body punches.

However, Hatton will have been buoyed by the fact that Tszyu failed to make weight at the first attempt at Friday's weigh-in.

At this level, such things may seem trivial to the untrained eye.

Yet to those in the trade and those who like a bet on boxing, those couples of ounces that Tszyu came in over tell the punter so much.

Fair enough, those ounces can often be lost by discarding a pair of underpants on the scales, but for a fight of this magnitude, especially for a fighter as professional as Kostya is, you have to wonder just what this training camp has taken out of him?

When the fight was announced, I could see no other winner than the Australian based Russian.

Yet given the weight issue (he has been training in a sweat suit in Bolton in the week leading up to the fight - traditionally a time fighters 'wind down' their preparations), and the fact that Kostya, even at 35, is supposedly among the most professional trainers in the game, I am beginning to wonder.

Is father time finally catching up to the great man?

We won't know for sure till the bell rings, but I have now been forced to revise my pre-fight prediction accordingly.

I now reckon it's going to be Tszyu early or Hatton late.

The Tszyu win outright is a top price 1/2, but that price lost all of it's appeal to me when the weight problems came to light.

Tszyu to win via KO, TKO or Disqualification at anytime can be backed at 4/5, and that price is not without appeal.

The way I see things, while Hatton has improved defensively he is still far too open to the right cross, which unfortunately for him is Tszyu's honey punch.

I expect the action to be frenetic with Hatton, who I know is as game as they come, standing his ground and going toe-to-toe, a tactic that could prove his undoing.

As Tszyu readily admitted in a recent press conference: "Every time somebody is throwing a punch there is a good chance that they open themselves up. I do not make mistakes and when other people make mistakes, when they are throwing the punch, it is usually time to go."

However, if 'The Hitman' can weather the early storm, given his conditioning, tenacity and the small matter off 22,000 fans screaming themselves hoarse cheering him on, he could just pull this off.

For while I have mentioned the fact that Hatton does leave himself open, he can hardly be described as 'chinny' and as a boxing scholar, there is no doubt he will have done his homework and will be going all out to avoid Tszyu's bombs.

Furthermore, you have to consider the 'hometown' factor here as well.

We used to laugh at some of the disgraceful decisions dished out to foreign opponents in places like Italy and Spain in the past, but there have been more than a few shockers in Great Britain over the last few years.

If Hatton is still on his feet at the end, and the fight is anywhere near close, don't be surprised to see the belt change hands.

Therefore there are worse bets out there than having a saver on the Hatton points win at 4/1.