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Manchester rising! Why Jack Catterall and Pat Brown can lead city back to Ricky Hatton halcyon days
A sea of moon blue spills over the seats at the City of Manchester Stadium. The sun has long dipped below the curve of the Colin Bell Stand, scattered clouds hung instead in the dusk.
Beery catcalls echo around the concourse, and spill onto the pitch. Then, Hi Ho Silver Lining - its words judiciously swapped in the style of terrace chants old and new - punctures a new roar.
This is no end-of-season celebration for Manchester City, of course. The Premier League club have been forced on the road to end their term, drubbed 8-1 by Gareth Southgate's Middlesbrough instead.
But for their fans, locked out of their own ground while Rangers lost the UEFA Cup final to Zenit Saint Petersburg ten days prior, it is a chance for late-spring redemption of a different kind.
Ricky Hatton's homecoming wasn't just a boxing match - it was a cultural watershed for the sport, both as a national pastime and as an arbiter of a city's sporting identity.
The Hitman had fought his last four bouts across the pond in America, striving to become the welterweight king against Floyd Mayweather Jr. He returned with a first career loss.
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Defeat had not dampened a mystique that left a 43-1 record though. In front of a postwar record crowd of 55,000 fans, Hatton proved why he was still king with victory over Juan Lazcano.
It was the capstone to a sensation, and a culmination of hometown pride. Now, the better part of two decades on, a new crop of Manchester boxers are determined to fly the flag for local heroes too.
Jack Catterall will seek a long-awaited return to a world championship shot when he faces Arnold Barboza Jr in a WBO super lightweight title eliminator live on DAZN this Saturday.
Then, next month, former Olympian Pat Brown will look to start his professional journey in style against Vladimir Reznicek, as the latest star to come through Matchroom Boxing.
One is already at the peak of arena-pulling powers, calling to mind the memories of that mid-noughties halcyon era where Hatton led the charge for domestic entertainment.
The other has his eyes on following in the footsteps of a Mancunian legend and helping to put the city's name back on the map as a boxing hotspot into 2025 and beyond.
"There's some big fights to be made and my dreams are always to sell out arenas," Brown told Sky Sports News last year.
"[I want] to bring back them Ricky Hatton days in Manchester. That's what always gets me going, have some good wars and good boxing fights."
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
It is no mistake The Hitman remains so revered in his community. Few boxers beyond the upper glamour divisions transcend its borders; fewer still become a sensation.
Catterall is on his way to achieving those dreams, however.
Three years ago, his hopes looked to be in tatters after facing Josh Taylor for the undisputed light welterweight crown.
A controversial split-decision loss robbed him of world champion status. The British Boxing Board of Control launched an investigation into the scoring in the aftermath.
But a slew of strikingly impressive wins, including a revenge triumph over Taylor, has not only paved the way back towards the summit, but further cemented his profile too.
Last autumn, he soundly outmatched Regis Prograis at Manchester's Co-op Live. He returns to the venue to face Barboza, in front of what is tipped to be a bumper crowd.
It helps that there is a clear professional respect between Catterall and Hatton too, synonymous with their love for the city. The former has trained at the latter's gym for a decade.
Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing
Speaking to the Daily Mail before he faced Prograis, El Gato reflected on how his journey has taken him after the footsteps of The Hitman too, and how he handles the weight.
"I remember coming up to Ricky's gym probably 10 years ago and sparring his fighters," he said. "Now I am sat here with him talking about my event in Manchester.
"I've been in high-pressure situations before, and I know how to keep my head. I'm there to do a job, and I expect to do it correctly."
It will be similar talk before Barboza, the stepping stone to a shot at the history books once again. Hatton cut his teeth in shows like this on the way to becoming world champion.
It has been a long time since boxing went back to stadiums in Manchester. But if two men can make good on their promises and dreams, perhaps they won't have to wait too long.
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