WHEN Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao climb into the ring at the MGM Grand's Garden Arena a week on Saturday, the good, the bad and the beautiful will gather to watch.

Sitting in among the Beverly Hills glitterati, the rap stars and rock icons, the basketball and baseball heroes, and the shady sharp-shooters of the American underworld, will be Ricky Hatton.

But, as the stars and superstars preen themselves and make sure they are seen to be seen, Hatton's focus will be entirely on the two men casting shapes around the ring.

It will be just two weeks to the day that Hatton ensured his own excellent career will continue for at least one more fight, maybe two, possibly three, by bludgeoning Paulie Malignaggi into submission.

That win means he is next in line for a shot at the winner, both of whom fight under De La Hoya's Golden Boy promotional banner.

But for whom will Ricky be rooting?

It's a question which is likely to give the Hitman a bout of schizophrenia. The side of him which wants the glamour and glitz, plus another huge pay-day, will be cheering on Golden Boy Oscar.

And yet the fighter within Hatton, the part of him that remains a born winner, and a seeker after the more earthy satisfaction of the world pound-for-pound title, will be hoping the brilliant Pacquiao can defy the weight difference and pull off a shock.

Hatton has already made it plain that the winner of the fight is squarely in his sights, and with no political or financial obstacles, it is a fight which - barring the recession becoming a depression - is likely to happen.

A showdown between Hatton and his long-time friend De La Hoya, in front of nearly 100,000 people at Wembley Stadium, would be the kind of mega-event which would be a fitting end to the careers of both men.

Underdog

It would pit the man who, along with Joe Calzaghe, put the pride back into British boxing, against the Mexican-American star who transcended boxing and became a pin-up boy for boxing fans and teenage girls alike in the US.

But it is a fight in which Hatton would be a big underdog.

The weight at which the fight would be made would be crucial. Hatton is king of the light-welterweights, as he showed with his brutal dismissal of Malignaggi, the only man pushing him close.

De La Hoya, who campaigns at the 11-stone light-middleweight limit, has said he could make the 10-stone light-welter limit, but at the age of 35, whether he would risk draining his strength so much is debatable.

He has agreed to drop down to the welterweight division to face Pacquiao who, remarkably, has ranged up the weights from starting out as a 7st 8lbs light-flyweight, winning titles and major fights in all divisions up to lightweight.

Whether Pacquiao can leapfrog two divisions and still be competitive against a man who will be much larger on the night, remains to be seen.

But that is the very dilemma which will face Hatton, should De La Hoya bully the squat little Filipino and win the fight.

Hatton is the best there is at 10 stone, but on the two occasions he has moved up to welter, his primary assets, of strength and power, were negated. He struggled to beat Luis Collazo and met his match in Floyd Mayweather junior.

It is difficult to see what he has which would trouble De La Hoya, unless new trainer Floyd Mayweather senior can work a few miracles.

De La Hoya is strong, quick and technically very good, as he showed in running Mayweather junior close in 2007, and as he has shown throughout a stellar career in which he has ducked no-one.

But the spectacle of those two meeting, at Wembley, would capture imaginations on both sides of the Atlantic.

Pacquiao, despite being the best boxer on the planet right now, has just one drawback - he is not American. He is not huge box office in a sport which is suffering a downturn in the US.
Chance

Hatton has more than a chance of beating Pacquiao due to size alone. But for the fight to come off, it would mean Pacquiao defying the odds and beating De La Hoya well above his natural weight.

The other names to have entered the frame are Juan Manuel Marquez and Mayweather junior.

Marquez is the current Ring magazine lightweight champ, who wants to challenge Hatton. If the big-money fight with De La Hoya or Pacquiao had to be delayed, Marquez would be in the frame, with the Hitman aiming to fight at least twice next year.

Marquez had drawn with and lost to Pacquiao in their two fights, and would be the best option if Hatton decided to stay down at light-welter.

Meanwhile, Mayweather junior is reported to be back in training after finding retirement not to his the liking.

Hatton would love a chance to avenge his only pro defeat, and maybe the presence of the Pretty Boy's estranged father in his own corner would boost his belief that next time things would be different.

If any man knows the way to beat the pugilistic genius of Mayweather, it is his father, who honed and perfected those talents in the first place.

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