- Ricky Hatton is a former two-division boxing champion with just three losses in 48 professional matches.
- He hasn’t fought since November 2012, but the 46-year-old Hatton has announced a comeback fight for December.
- Hatton could be in the mix to fight Jake Paul, but he said the purse would have to be massive.
English boxing great Ricky Hatton has announced his return to the boxing ring, 13 years after his last professional fight. The 46-year-old will fight Eisa Al Dah at middleweight in Dubai on December 2, 2025.
This return could put Hatton in the mix for a match with Jake Paul, but the veteran says he’d do it for a ton of money.
Hatton, Who Has Fought Mayweather and Pacquiao, Returns Against Al Dah
Hatton’s return against Al Dah was announced on Monday morning in Dubai.
Hatton, who will be 47 in October, has a professional record of 45-3 and has held titles at light welterweight (140 pounds) and welterweight (147 pounds). He won the first 43 fights of his career but was knocked out by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the tenth round of their December 2007 tilt.
The Englishman bounced back with wins over Juan Lazcano and Paulie Malignaggi, both at 140 pounds. But Hatton lost the IBO and The Ring light-welterweight belts in May 2009, when he was knocked out by Manny Pacquiao in the second round.
After a ninth-round knockout loss to Vyacheslav Senchenko in November 2024, the Manchester-bred Hatton called it quits on his professional career. He has gone on to train many fighters, including Tommy Fury. Hatton also helped to train Tyson Fury in his first fight against Deontay Wilder in December 2018.
Hatton returns to the ring to fight Eisa Al Dah, nicknamed the “Arabian Warrior”. Al Dah is also 46 years old, and he is 8-3 in 11 fights. His last bout was in July 2021 when he was knocked out in the first round by Alejandro Delgado. It would seem as though this fight would be a warm-up match for Hatton, perhaps for a bigger-money fight down the line.
Will Ricky Hatton Fight Jake Paul?
Hatton hasn’t appeared in the recent Jake Paul next opponent odds, but you could see this fight being made. Paul fought a 58-year-old Mike Tyson, which did big numbers on Netflix, despite streaming issues. According to Netflix, a high of 65 million people streamed the fight, and 72,300 people showed up in Dallas.
Hatton doesn’t have the name that Tyson has to help Paul sell the fight. But he’s a known entity in boxing, and whatever you think about Paul, he’s an outstanding businessman. Hatton said on June 27:
"If you say to a fighter, and that is what we are, we are fighters and if somebody says ‘fight this guy, and we will give you a few million pounds to fight’, then the fighter will give it ago. That is what we do because we are fighters and want a challenge, but I think it should be taken out of our hands by the governing bodies and the medical world. If somebody said to me, ‘fight Jake Paul for £25m,’ what am I going to say, no? If you get offered £25m, then why wouldn’t I?”
Basically, Hatton says he would fight Paul for 25 million pounds, which is the equivalent of $34 million in USD. But he also noted that governing bodies should step in and stop it.
If there is one thing we know for sure in boxing, it is that money talks. If the price is right, Hatton would likely do the fight. He’s fighting Al Dah at middleweight, which is 160 pounds. Paul was recently ranked by the WBA at cruiserweight, which is 200 pounds.
Some details would have to be figured out, and like Hatton said, it probably shouldn’t. But if the money is right, we could see Hatton in the ring against Jake Paul if this fight with Al Dah goes well for him!
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