Despite winning his comeback bout at the weekend, Ricky Hatton is unlikely to see his wish of a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr next spring granted. Hatton beat Juan Lazcano on points at the City of Manchester Stadium at the weekend and is next due to box against Paulie Malignaggi in November, but he is likely to be told that he should forget about facing Mayweather again for the foreseeable future and instead look for smaller boxers to face.

Golden Boy, Hatton's promoter, is thought to believe he will need at least three victories to give a rematch with Mayweather, the WBC welterweight champion, credibility. Should Hatton beat Malignaggi, the IBF light-welterweight champion, in the United States, they are looking at a shortlist of three opponents, who would move up in weight to challenge Hatton.

The list is headed by Manny Pacquiao, the popular three-weight world champion from the Philippines, and features two former world lightweight champions, Juan Diaz, of the US, and Michael Katsidis, from Australia.

Mayweather stopped Hatton, 29, in ten rounds in Las Vegas in December. In the meantime, Mayweather, an unbeaten five-weight world champion who is widely regarded as the world's best boxer, has another rematch on his mind, against Oscar De La Hoya in September. When they met last May, it was the richest bout of all time.

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