Ricky Hatton is in 'advanced' talks to make a historic return to the ring against fellow boxing legend Marco Antonio Barrera.
The British star has not fought since he was defeated by Vyacheslav Senchenko in a ninth-round stoppage back in 2012.
He was one of the most popular British fighters in the modern era and has shared the ring with the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather.
According to a report from The Sun, talks are now "advanced" for Hatton to return to the ring in an exhibition bout with 48-year-old Barrera.
Reports suggest that negotiations are yet to be completed but have progressed to an advanced stage for the 43-year-old to make his boxing comeback.
Hatton has resumed boxing training in recent months and regularly shows himself thumping pads and working out to his social media followers.
He's also been joining in with his son Campbell's sessions, who is launching his professional career with promotion Matchroom Boxing.
Barrera is a household name amongst boxing fans having won multiple world titles in three-weight classes including super-bantamweight and featherweight.
He has also shared the ring with Pacquiao twice losing on both occasions and has also fought Amir Khan in the antepenultimate fight of his career.
The Mexican star has already taken to the exhibition circuit facing domestic challenges against Jesus Soto Karass and Daniel Ponce De Leon in the last year.
Any bout staged would continue a trend of former boxers making exhibition appearances which began with the heavyweight clash between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr.
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Oscar De La Hoya has previously signed to make a re-appearance in the ring with Evander Holyfield also involved in a farcical clash with Vitor Belfort.
Hatton has previously spoken fondly of making an exhibition return and believes that it gives former fighters a chance to showcase their skills for new fans.
"I am all for these dream fights we keep hearing about," Hatton wrote for the Metro. "I have youngsters coming up to me, saying, ‘I’ve watched your fights on video but I never got to see you live!’
"And I think that is why I’m a fan of these exhibitions. You’re not going to see your heroes get seriously hurt, it is a chance to see them showcase their skills one last time and you can raise a bit of money for charity too, so I’m all for it.
"There’s a couple of picks that spring to mind for me. "If we are talking domestically, I would still love to see Joe Calzaghe vs Carl Froch.
"They very nearly came close to fighting, Joe was coming to the end, Carl was coming to the forefront. There is always those what-ifs, so if it were an exhibition between those two I think that would be quite a nice one for fight fans.
