English boxing great Ricky Hatton will wind back the clock as he makes a shock return to the squared circle.
Hatton, 46, is set to fight Eisa Al Dah at middleweight on December 2 in Dubai.
It will be Hatton’s first professional bout since November 2012, when he was stopped by Vyacheslav Senchenko.
He returned to the ring in 2022 against Marco Antonio Barrera, but it was an exhibition bout.
Al Dah, also 46, is the United Arab Emirates’ first-ever professional boxer having made his debut in March 2007 against Larry Foster.
Hatton was due to fly out to Dubai ahead of the press conference to launch the bout.
However, Hatton was forced to remain at home after he sustained an eye injury during the Oasis reunion concert in Cardiff and was not cleared to travel until it was healed.
Although he could not be there in person, Hatton appeared via video call to talk up the fight.
“I’m very much looking forward to it myself, to be honest with you,” Hatton said.
“What you’re trying to do there for boxing in Dubai is fantastic.”
Al Dah was more emphatic in how he believed the fight would go and despite the duo both being 46, he vowed there would be plenty of energy.
He remarked: “Trust me, this fight will not be like the Jake Paul and Mike Tyson fight.
“It will be a true fight, true action.
“And I will do my best, because everybody in the UAE and the Gulf, they will watch this fight.
“The place will be sold out and it will be watched around the world.”
Hatton remains one of Britain’s best-ever and most popular fighters, having amassed a staggering 43-0 record before he was beaten for the first time in December 2007 by Floyd Mayweather Jr for the WBC and The Ring welterweight straps.
In that dazzling unbeaten streak, Hatton won multiple world titles in the super lightweight division and one at welterweight.
His crowning moment came in June 2005 when he dethroned Australia’s Kostya Tszyu to claim the IBF and The Ring super lightweight crowns.
Following the defeat to ‘Money’ Mayweather, Hatton picked up back-to-back wins over Juan Lazcano and Paulie Malignaggi to retain his IBO and The Ring super lightweight titles.
But he lost his world champion status when he was knocked out by Manny Pacquaio in May 2009.
He took a two-and-a-half year absence from the ring after the loss to Pacquiao, but ended it in November 2012 against Senchenko.
Sadly his final fight did not go to plan as he was stopped in the ninth round.
Yet Hatton will have one final chance to end his professional career on a high.
