Supporters Tip the Scales in Vegas

Ricky Hatton weighed in two pounds under the welterweight limit at a glittering weigh-in in front of more than 6,000 cheering British fans at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Hatton grabbed the microphone and roared, "Let's f***ing have him!" after going nose to nose once again with Mayweather, who hit the scales exactly on the 147lbs limit. Hatton milked the cheers of his supporters, some of whom had queued for up to eight hours simply for the privilege of seeing their hero weigh in for the biggest fight of his career.

Predictably, Mayweather was booed as he tipped the scales then posed at the front of the stage. Hatton waved him away as he was hustled off the dais by his posse of minders.

Hatton's British rival Joe Calzaghe was among the parade of champions introduced to the stage, and he wasted no opportunity in once again confronting possible future opponent Bernard Hopkins. Cheered to the rafters by the fans, Calzaghe mocked the former middleweight champion's trademark 'executioner' gestures at the front of the stage before briefly going nose to nose. Earlier, the pair had clashed in the fight media centre with Calzaghe deriding Hopkins for his two losses to Jermain Taylor and Hopkins controversially hitting back: "I'll never lose to a white man".

Other great champions sharing the stage with Hatton and Mayweather included promoter Oscar De La Hoya, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley.