[BASICS OF BETTING BOXING] Favorite: -170 (bet $170 to win $100) • Underdog: +150 (bet $100 to win $150) • Draw: +800 (bet $100 to win $800)

(10/18) Kelly Pavlik -400 • Bernard Hopkins +300

(11/8) Joe Calzaghe -350 • Roy Jones Jr +275 

(11/15) Jermain Taylor  -550 • Jeff Lacy +350 

(11/22) Ricky Hatton -265 • Paul Malignaggi +205

(12/6) Oscar De la Hoya -260 • Manny Pacquiao +200 

*Source as of 9/6: www.bodoglife.com  

Hungry Hatton Out To Prove Naysayers Wrong Against Lazcano A red-eyed Ricky Hatton staggered into the room after a night on the town. • Quietly, he sat down in a small conference room adjacent to the MGM Grand Garden Arena, his features and demeanor betraying the raw emotion of genuine grief as he faced the full gathering of British media. • His words were drawn out but he spoke with a heartfelt passion. • “I’ll be damned if Ricky Hatton is going to finish [fighting] after getting knocked out for the first time in his life by someone,” Hatton said. “No chance. You all know me and you know that I’d rather die than finish on a loss, lying flat on my back. Now could you please switch off the camera before I start crying?” —Brian Doogan, sports.espn.go.com

Juan Lazcano Keen To Exploit Ricky Hatton Weaknesses In Manchester Juan Lazcano believes that Ricky Hatton’s return to the ring so soon after his first defeat is a brave move, yet premature, and explained his plans to exploit this against the Mancunian, still considered the world No 1 light-welterweight prize fighter. • Lazcano admitted yesterday he took two years away from the ring following his first career defeat back in 1994 – partly to grow up, partly to recover emotionally - yet the 33-year-old Mexican-born fighter feels he is facing Hatton at the perfect moment. —Gareth A Davies, www.telegraph.co.uk

Mayweather Session Leaves Khan Looking For Fresh Directions Ricky Hatton’s nemesis, Floyd Mayweather, has an ominous message for the Hitman. “Tell him I went easy on him because I kinda like the guy, but if we fight again at Wembley, which is what he wants, I’ll really turn it on. There’ll be no mercy this time.” The chilling warning was delivered in Las Vegas to Amir Khan, when the Commonwealth lightweight champion spent an educational hour in Mayweather’s flamboyant company before the Calzaghe-Hopkins fight. • Khan was invited to Mayweather’s gym for a workout and was surprised when the welterweight champ, recognised as the world’s supreme fighting machine, offered advice. “I couldn’t believe it,” Khan says. “He seemed to know everything about me, where I came from, who I’d fought, how many knock-outs I’ve had. —Alan Hubbard, www.independent.co.uk

(Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

>> UNDEFEATED BOXING CHAMPION OF THE WORLD, AND DAUGHTER OF BOXING LEGEND MUHAMMED ALI, HAS QUIT THE SPORT. As Faiza Elmasry tells us, Ali has become a TV show host and health correspondent, hoping to combat juvenile obesity and inspire her adult viewers to stay fit and healthy. —(Faiza Elmasry, www.voanews.com)

>> (PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD)— Lightweight Sadam Ali (Brooklyn, N.Y.) officially qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games with a masterful third round stoppage of Juan Nicolas Cuellar of Argentina at the Americas Qualifier on Monday in Port of Spain, Trinidad. —(Source, www.usaboxing.org • Follow Sadam’s road to gold in the boxing documentary, “Brooklyn to Beijing.”

>> Ricky Hatton has sold 50,000 tickets for his homecoming bout in just two days. • And there are only 5,000 tickets left for his May 24 fight at the City of Manchester Stadium against Mexican Juan Lazcano. —(Source, www.lep.co.uk)

(Ali photo by Giuliano Bekor)