Ricky Hatton has taken thousands of his Manchester brethren on an odyssey all the way from a council estate to the bright lights of Las Vegas and supped pints with most of them along the way.

They are mostly the types of happy-go-lucky people who would head willingly into the Last Chance Saloon given half a chance, and attempt to push back the boundaries of closing time.

And that is precisely the kind of task facing Hatton this month as he seeks to prove that he can hold back the slowly ticking clock for long enough to reign again as world light-welterweight champion.

The true nature of Hatton's win over Juan Lazcano in his home city six months ago was masked by the frenzy of 55,000 euphoric supporters who bothered little but that Hatton would have his arm raised again at the end of the night.

In the cold light of day even Hatton must have accepted that his performance showed all the hallmarks of a career in terminal decline - a sluggish and tired victory over a Tex-Mex fighter who had come out of retirement to take the fight.

Little has happened since to inspire confidence that Hatton's performance that night was just a mere blip brought about by the pressure of performing in front of his expectant home city fans.

He has parted from his trainer Billy Graham, with whom he had always maintained he would finish his career, and whom some in Hatton's camp - though not the fighter himself - appear to blame, unfairly, for recent travails.

And perhaps even more importantly, his divorce from Graham also meant splitting with his strength and conditioning coach Kerry Kayes, whose methods had long kept the 'Ricky Fatton' caricature on the straight and narrow.

Those are big losses to sustain at this stage of a sterling career, ones which even the employment of the hugely respected Floyd Mayweather Snr as coach may not be able to overcome.

It is all very well devising a tactic to combat the elusive, fleet-footed skills of Paulie Malignaggi, but quite another to put them into practice if your weight-loss programme has left you sapped of energy.

Energy is what Malignaggi has in gallons, and what makes this such an intriguing fight at this point in Hatton's career - in many respects, precisely the fight a tiring fighter would not wish to take.

Malignaggi, ravaged by right hand injuries since his early days, has long since neglected to pursue the knockout approach and instead developed his fast and accurate style which has served him so well.

In a boxing world always hungry for big punchers, Malignaggi has also used his brash and confident persona to win over a whole generation of fights and secure his status as genuine top-of-the bill contender.

He, too, has plenty to prove this time out. Despite being three years younger than Hatton at 27, he looked poor in his last fight, a split-decision win over Lovemore N'Dou, whom he had shut out in their first fight a year earlier.

At his best, Malignaggi undoubtedly has the style to give Hatton - especially an older, slower Hatton - nightmares, by counter-attacking precisely and building up a healthy points lead on the judges' cards.

It is no coincidence that most of Hatton's best wins have come against come-forward, attacking opponents like Kostya Tszyu and Ben Tackie.

In contrast, his biggest off-nights have come against the likes of the clever Mayweather, and the elusive frustrating southpaws like Luis Collazo and Eamonn Magee.

Malignaggi, though, is not just a glamour boy. In his June 2006 challenge to the then unbeaten Miguel Cotto, he overcame a fractured cheekbone and a serious cut to fight all the way to the final bell.

This looks a tough, close fight and one which is likely to come down to the final bell and the judges' preference for either a come-forward swinger or a man who prefers to rack up quick points on the back-foot.

Hatton heads into this fight knowing the reality is he will have nowhere to go if he loses this fight, and his fanciful dreams of a Mayweather rematch or a Wembley clash with Oscar De La Hoya will go up in smoke.

All of which will be bad news not only for Hatton, but for the thousands who have drunk their way around the world with him in steadfast support. They are praying the Last Chance Saloon will stay open for business.

More news from SportingLife.com