Viddal Riley is excited to feature on the same card as "legend" Ricky Hatton ahead of his exhibition return this Saturday night.
Hatton last fought in 2012 when he elected to hang up his gloves as a professional following defeat to Vyacheslav Senchenko after a hugely successful career where he reigned as two-weight world champion. Now he will return to the ring for the first time in his hometown AO Arena in Manchester, where he touches gloves with Mexican veteran Marco Antonio Barrera.
The card will be preceded by a stacked BOXXER bill featuring some of Britain's brightest young talent including YouTube star Iley who is campaigning at cruiserweight. And ahead of his own fight with Ross McGuigan, Riley is excited at receiving the opportunity to showcase his skills on another high-profile card.
"Obviously that is legendary," Riley told Mirror Fighting and other reporters ahead of Hatton's return. "Ricky is a fighter that I have gone to watch in his prime. He is a legend so to see myself on a show where he is going to be fighting in the same arena on the night, and it just goes to show I am trying to follow in the footsteps. I felt the same when I fought on the Khan vs Brook fight.
"That is one of the biggest fights in British boxing history and to be on that show is paving my name, little bit by little bit I am attaching myself to these big fighters and writing my story. Even before I came back to the UK I had fought on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao vs Adrien Broner, it is something I can add to my experiences. Fighting around the world as a young fighter, it is a dream.
"I have fought on big shows, so when it comes to my time and I reach the top of my game I will have been used to being in these big venues and being involved in the big occasions." Hatton has made a remarkable transformation with his weight, which has seen many compare the fighter with his son Campbell who is fighting in the early stages of his career.
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Fans regularly flocked in their thousands to see the boxing legend compete around the world including against the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. And the 44-year-old has now made a gesture to fans to reduce ticket prices for the event which will take place this weekend.
He wrote in a statement: "Fair play to the promoters. I was worried some of my true fans were being priced out and they’ve pulled off a sponsorship deal which makes them a lot more affordable. It's going to be where the party's at - and they agreed to price them all at £25. I know my days are numbered but it doesn't matter how old you are, you still have to keep setting yourself targets to get out of bed."
