The Hereford Times

Witter eyes Hatton showdown

3:46pm Friday 9th May 2008

Junior Witter's long road towards acceptance as the world's number one light-welterweight continues in Nottingham on Saturday night when he puts his WBC title on the line against unbeaten American Timothy Bradley.

The 34-year-old from Bradford knows he cannot afford to look anything other than impressive in a bout being broadcast on both sides of the Atlantic if he is to increase the public clamour for a showdown with Ricky Hatton.

"I think the Hatton fight will happen," said Witter. "There's that much of a demand for it in the UK and across the boxing world. It has come to the stage where the pressure is on Hatton to take the fight."

Witter has come a long way since his first world title challenge which saw him step in at short notice and produce an overly negative display against then champion Zab Judah at Hampden Park in 2000.

The manner of that defeat saw him frozen out for a number of years but it is a sign of his new-found credibility that Witter is now on the Home Box Office-approved list of prospective future pay-per-view opponents for Hatton.

"No-one wanted to give me a shot after the Judah fight because they realised I was good and managed to find ways to avoid me," added Witter.

"But I did everything I had to do. I took the long road because it was the only one left."