Hatton-Maliganaggi tix on sale tomorrow

07/08/2008

Hatton-Maliganaggi tix on sale tomorrow

Press Release: Tickets officially go on sale tomorrow, Friday August 8th, at 10:00am PT for the junior welterweight world championship bout between England's Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton and New York's Paulie "The Magic Man" Malignaggi on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. 

 Tickets priced at $1,000, $750, $500, $300 and $150 and sales are limited to four (4) per person at the $1,000 price level and a total of two (2) tickets either at $750, $500, $300 or $150.  To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000.  Tickets also are available for purchase at www.ticketmaster.com.

 A boxing superstar hailing from Manchester, England, the storied career of Hatton (44-1, 31 KOs) began in 1997 and for the last 11 years, he has been thrilling fight fans around the world with his aggressive style in the ring and down to earth attitude outside of it.  Owner of wins over Kostya Tszyu, Vince Phillips, Luis Collazo, Jose Luis Castillo and Juan Urango, Hatton – a two division world champion – fell short of the pound-for-pound and world welterweight championships in his 2007 super fight against Floyd Mayweather.  However, the 29-year-old bounced back impressively at his natural weight of 140 pounds in May as he scored a near shutout 12-round unanimous decision over Juan Lazcano.

 Known for his flashy style and pound for pound ability to out-talk any fighter in the world, Brooklyn's Malignaggi (25-1, 5 KOs) has also developed a positive reputation for his heart and determination to overcome adversity throughout his seven-year pro career.  A dazzling boxer with a stiff jab, lightning speed and quick combinations, the 27-year-old gained a legion of fans for his gutsy effort in a 12-round defeat at the hands of Miguel Cotto in 2006, and even more followers jumped on his bandwagon when he nearly shut out Lovemore N'dou in 2007 to win the IBF Junior Welterweight World crown.  Malignaggi has since defended his title against Herman Ngoudjo and in a rematch against N'dou, but a victory over Hatton is what this New Yorker is truly seeking.