On 24 May 2008, Hatton beat Mexican Juan Lazcano by unanimous
decision with scores of 120-110, 120-108 and 118-110, in front of
his home crowd of 55,000 (a post-World War II record for a boxing
match in Britain), at City of Manchester Stadium to retain The Ring
Magazine and IBO light welterweight titles. Hatton did well when he
boxed and controlled the range, utilizing his jab and dominating a
lot of the early exchanges. In round eight, Hatton absorbed a left
hook to the chin that wobbled him, and in round ten, Hatton was
hurt again by a left hook. Despite that, Hatton outworked Lazcano
to win at least ten of the rounds.
Hatton was coming off his first career loss to Floyd Mayweather,
Jr. and was fighting for the first time back in Manchester. It was
a thanks to all his fans who had travelled to the States to watch
his previous four fights and was held in his home Football ground
of his beloved Manchester City.
Lazcano was a durable opponent who was in the top ten for light
welterweights in the Ring Magazine rankings. His only stoppage
defeat was to Golden Johnson ten years previously and he was also
coming off a loss to Vivian Harris
Paulie Malignaggi was on the undercard as he and Hatton were
meant to fight each other later in the year.
The weigh-in took place at the Trafford Centre in Manchester and
there was a lot of anticipation about Hatton's Ring Entrance. A lot
of people were criticizing his diet between fights and were saying
he was past his best, He wanted to prove them wrong and also take a
dig at them at the same time. Hatton said it could be his last in
Britain.
The ring entrance involved a version of Hi Ho Silver Lining with
the words replaced to mention Hatton, followed by Blue Moon. Hatton
appeared in a fat suit and walked to the ring in it.
The referee was Howard Foster and the judges were Marcus
McDonell, Pat Russell and Phil Austin. Judges scores of 120-110,
118-110 and 120-108 proved that it was a dominating display. Hatton
also rocked Lazcano several times and had him against the ropes
using the full repertoire of shots, with Lazcano's back bruised
from being constantly pushed against the ropes.