Ricky “Hitman” Hatton will lace up for one final walk under the lights, confirming he’ll face Dubai native Eisa Al Dah on December 2 in the UAE. The middleweight clash dubbed Destiny in the Desert marks Hatton’s first sanctioned fight since his 2012 comeback loss to Vyacheslav Senchenko and arrives 18 months after the Manchester idol’s induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Hatton, 47 in October, insists the matchup is a “good and sensible” test: a fellow 40-something opponent (Al Dah is 46), far from world-title stakes, and, crucially, an incentive to stay fit and focused for mental-health reasons. “We still need goals,” Hatton said via livestream after a freak sunglasses mishap scratched his eye and kept him from the Dubai press launch. “I’m not chasing belts—I’m chasing that buzz one last time."
Al Dah (8-3, 4 KOs) hasn’t boxed since a first-round knockout defeat in 2021 and owns just three victories this decade. Yet the Emirati pioneer - who turned pro in 2007 - will relish hometown support and a career-defining name on the marquee.
Details on round length and glove size remain under discussion, echoing recent veteran exhibitions, but Hatton stresses it will be a “proper fight,” not a sparring session. After exhibition rounds with Marco Antonio Barrera in 2022 and years of coaching and promoting, the former junior-welter and welterweight champion now writes a final chapter to a career that captivated British fans and featured epic nights against Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
Image Credit: Sky Sports