There were raised eyebrows when Ricky Hatton switched trainers to Floyd Mayweather Sr, but the Mancunian has said that the partnership is proving to be a perfect match.

Hatton defends his IBO and Ring magazine light-welterweight titles against Paulie Malignaggi here on Saturday, his first bout since his split from Billy Graham, who had been his trainer him since his professional debut 12 years ago. He has been based in Las Vegas for a month and has said that the change has helped him. “He's had me running up mountains in these combat boots and I look like Sylvester Stallone in Cliffhanger,” Hatton said. “It's really hard work, with the air being so thin, and I'm running at nearly 8,000 feet above sea level.

“I've never felt as tired as I do after a session with Floyd, but I feel better for it in the long run. Although training is hard, I've enjoyed it. Floyd is always cracking jokes and he's a real character. We get on really well and everyone knows I like a laugh as well.”

But the new methods brought by Mayweather, the estranged father of Floyd Mayweather Jr, the only boxer to have beaten Hatton, have improved rather than changed his aggressive style. “It's been great going into the gym and I'm thinking, ‘What I am going to do today?'” Hatton said. “That's a positive thing and it gives you that extra bit of lift.

“I'd say Floyd has slowed me down a bit. He's getting me to use my jab a bit more and setting up my shots better. I've always been a better fighter when I slow down a bit and he's just polished me up a bit. He's not changed my style, just smoothed off one or two little areas.”

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