"I’m a junior welterweight, but the pain would be worth the gain, so maybe we’d fight at a catch weight."

BoxingTalk:  Ricky, congratulations once again.  Talk about that punch, because like Bob Arum said, it had to be a perfectly delivered punch.

Ricky Hatton:  Yeah.  It was only going to be a punch that good that would stop someone like Jose Luis Castillo in his tracks.  He’s never been down before.  He’s never been knocked out liked that before [from a body punch].  So, it had to be a good shot, and it was really.  He was crossing his arms, because he’s a good body puncher himself, and I got him right below the elbow.  I was happy to see him not get up because he’s avery tough customer.

BoxingTalk:  Have you ever been hit like that before, and what does it do to a guy?

Ricky Hatton:  I’ve been a body puncher from a very young age.  I remember getting in their when I was a twelve year old, getting dropped on a body punch, and I didn’t like the feeling, and I haven’t lost the memory since.  You can’t recover from it.  If you’ve got a good chin like Castillo has you can recover from it if you get hit there, but if you get on that spot downstairs you obviously you can’t recover.

BoxingTalk:  You talked about how the last two fights you weren’t pleased with, but in your two biggest fights you’ve been at your best.

Ricky Hatton:  Yeah.  My toughest fights and the best names on my record have been my best performances.  So it’s nice for me, but I think I need a challenge because the challenge makes me better. 

BoxingTalk:  Are you in the same class as a Mayweather right now?

Ricky Hatton:  I think so.  I went in there with a nasty man tonight.  I feel I needed a big performance because I felt my last two performances were…although I beat two world titlists in two weight divisions…they weren’t quite what I know I could do.  I know I could do better than that.  I went in there nasty tonight looking to put on an exciting and big performance and I think I did that.

BoxingTalk:  What do you personally want to do now?  What does your future look like?

Ricky Hatton:  Well, I’d like to fight the big names.  I’d like to fight world champions, and unification matches.  If I can’t find world champions, I’d like to fight some of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.  Sometimes when I’m expected, I don’t raise my performance.  I think that shows where my two best performances have been against some of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

BoxingTalk:  How do you celebrate?

Ricky Hatton:  Buy a Guiness.

BoxingTalk:  If you were to fight Mayweather, what weight would you fight at?

Ricky Hatton:  I think my limit would be 147.  I mean, I’m a natural 140 fighter.  If I got to 147 that’s a number for me, because I’m a junior welterweight, but the pain would be worth the gain, so maybe we’d fight at a catch weight.