REGARDLESS of my emphatic preference for handbags at four paces rather then pistols at dawn, it behoves me to take issue with a few bruisers who made the sports pages on Monday purgatory rather than a pleasure, writes Tony Lanigan.

I was discouraged many years ago from criticising Ricky Hatton when the teenager eyed me menacingly in the gym as though I was a punchbag.

Nevertheless, it must be said that the nation's finest exponent of the noble art was far from impressive in Las Vegas at the weekend, despite relieving Juan Urango of his IBF world title.

The US pundits were deeply disappointed that the exciting slug fest the Hyde fighter had promised was not served up and the legions of home fans who made the trip were left unfulfilled.

The fact is that Hatton belied his sobriquet of The Hitman in the later stages of the contest and his inactivity and constant holding were characteristic of a boxer who had run out of puff.

Although he has refused to accept that his insatiable appetite for pies and pints in between bouts leaves him short of stamina, ballooning from ten to 13 stone and down again cannot be helpful in going 12 rounds at the highest level of the planet's toughest sport.

He remains a great fighter and an admirable sportsman, but even his most dedicated fan will have been glad to hear the double world champion promise this week that until June, when he meets the formidable Jose Castillo in the gambling capital, he will be doing his best to walk by the odd pub and chippy.

That said, I'm grateful that Hatton is currently thousands of miles away enjoying a Caribbean cruise, but the next target is much closer to home.

Few have crossed hairdryers with the Red Knight and emerged unscathed, but it must be said that he was culpable when at Arsenal on Sunday his side were heading for a nine-point title lead and blew it.

When he should have been urging his men forward to increase their 1-0 lead, the Irascible One sent out the wrong signal by replacing Cristiano Ronaldo with defender Gabriel Heinze and their loss of impetus allowed the Gunners to snatch victory.

Then Sir Alex maintained - surprisingly for a club that had just lost three points - that his side had played well despite Ronaldo, Rooney, Larsson and even Scholes operating below par, amazingly that Michael Carrick was the best player on the pitch and puzzlingly, that they were somehow better off because Chelsea lost more heavily at Anfield on the preceeding day.

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