BOXING legend Ricky Hatton returned to the ring with a trademark knockout tonight at Sheffield Arena - against WWE wrestler Chavo Guerrero.
The Hitman was cheered by 10,000 fight fans when he took centre stage as special guest host of WWE's flagship Monday Night RAW.
The show is broadcast to a global audience of millions, including a screening on Sky Sports 3 and HD3 today, Tuesday, November 10, at 2am (GMT).
It will be repeated on Thursday, November 12, at 10pm.
Hatton last fought at Sheffield Arena when he won the WBA world title belt in a ninth round knockout against Carlos Maussa, in 2005.
He told the crowd: "When they asked me to be tonight's guest host I snapped up their invitation in a split second. It's great to be back at the Sheffield Arena. I've wonderful memories here. In fact I boxed here, winning a world title, knocking out Carlos Maussa. That was one of the proudest days of my career."
Tonight Hatton was first challenged by 7ft tall and 485lbs wrestler The Big Show, who dwarfed the former World Welterweight champion. It was a bigger size difference than when new Brit heavyweight world champ David Haye beat Goliath man-mountain Nikolai Valuev at the weekend.
And, thankfully for Hatton, after the Big Show took off his coat he backed down and stepped out of the ring without throwing a punch.
That was left to Chavo Guerrero, the nephew of the late great Eddie Guerrero. He demanded to meet Hatton in the ring after losing a darts throwing contest backstage with the boxer, who hit the bullseye.
Guerrero briefly wrestled Hatton around the ring but the Hitman produced a knockout blow and the crowd went wild with a chorus of "There's only one Ricky Hatton."
There's been talk of a boxing comeback since Hatton was defeated by Manny Pacquiao in a second round knockout, in May. But last night he explained he was enjoying promoting and spending more time with his family.
He is the latest in a long line of celebrity guest hosts for the WWE Raw show, which in recent months has featured the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr, Snoop Dogg, and more recently Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.
Hatton added: "As a youngster, I was a fan of WWE, and I'm still a big fan now. This is something I was really excited about doing, especially so close to my hometown. I think my son is even more excited about it than I am."
The superstars of the WWE are in the UK this week for the much anticipated DX Invasion tour, at a number of cities including Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Newcastle.
* The Undertaker, Batista and Rey Mysterio are scheduled to take part in the televised WWE Smackdown and ECW show from Sheffield Arena on Tuesday, November 10, 2009. Tickets, may be subject to a booking fee, are £60, £40, £30 and £20. Buy in person from the venue box office, call 0114 256 56 56 or book online at www.sheffieldarena.co.uk
READ MORE:
FREE WWE Batista mask and interview - CLICK HEREREAD MORESubscribe to The Star or Green 'UnVisit our Matchday Centre for free live coverage of every matchFootball headlines. Football gossip. Blades news Owls news Reds news. Millers news. More rugby. More boxing. Sports columnists. All sport categories Free E-Mag: Premier League 2009-10 PreviewWatch Premiership highlights, international football, golf, tennis, darts and much more - click here