MATTHEW Hatton has told of his shock and surprise at being linked with a possible fight against Floyd Mayweather Jnr.

Having drawn his IBO welterweight title challenge against Lovemore N’Dou, the younger Hatton found himself at the centre of speculation linking him with a Mayweather meeting.

The American had been due to fight Manny Pacquiao in a ‘super fight’ but that appears in doubt with rows over drug testing and the apparent possibility of legal action by Pacquiao against the Mayweather camp.

Cue the speculation that ‘Magic’ was in line to face Mayweather, acknowledged as the sport’s pound-for-pound king and the first man to beat elder brother Ricky back in December 2007.

"It was very surprising to be linked with him," admitted Hatton.

"I was at a friend’s party when Gareth Williams from my promotional company phoned and said that Golden Boy Promotions wanted to know if I’d be interested in fighting Floyd.

"I asked him if he was being serious but Floyd’s very keen on fighting in England and they asked if I’d be up for it.

"I didn’t have to think about it for one second. I think it’s unlikely but if the Pacquiao fight doesn’t come off I’m at the top of their list of opponents.

"I’m pretty sure things would get sorted between Floyd and Manny but Floyd’s camp have been in touch two or three times with mine.

"I won’t get carried away though at the prospect of fighting him in case it doesn’t come off but he’s the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and to share a ring with him would be amazing."

Should the Mayweather and Pacquiao camps come to an agreement, Hatton is keen on a rematch with N’Dou during 2010.

Having initially ruled out any prospect of facing N’Dou following their contentious draw, ‘Magic’ has subsequently relented.

He said: "Ideally I’d like to fight him again because no matter what the judges say, I know I beat him on the night.

"I know I said I wouldn’t travel to South Africa or Australia because I wouldn’t get the decision but I know I’ve got the beating of him.

"As time goes by you normally calm down but I’m still very annoyed and angry because I knew I’d won the fight and when I watched it afterwards, I thought I was an even clearer winner than I imagined at the time.

"Boxing is a subjective sport and different people see different things in different ways, but you sometimes get fights where one man can be throwing more punches and not landing as many, while the other fighter throws fewer punches but lands more.

"What people have to do is look at the stats from our fight; I threw more punches, landed more punches, forced the pace throughout but I couldn’t believe it when the draw was announced."

Despite producing what many observers felt to be his most complete performance to date, Hatton still took lessons away from the 12 rounds.

He explained: "I think one thing that surprised me is that throughout the whole of his career, Lovemore has been an aggressive, come forward fighter, but he was a bit negative against me.

"He was trying to box off the back foot which I didn’t expect, so perhaps in future I should learn to expect the unexpected a bit more."