Some people felt the Hitman was having himself an easy return against a Mexican-born resident of Sacramento, California, who rejoices in the nickname of the Hispanic Causing Panic.

Lazcano's not a household name here, not even with that nickname, but that didn't stop the tickets selling out for Hatton's first contest since that sadly memorable loss to the great Floyd Mayweather last December.

His fans expect a Hatton homecoming to remember, but it would be wrong to write off Lazcano. At 33, he is in a dangerous mood because this is his last chance to win a recognised world belt – Hatton's IBO light-welterweight title is at stake. Lazcano is also a tough, durable fighter who has won 46 of 49 contests after a distinguished amateur career.

He has a similar 'go forward' style to Hatton, but on a form line through Jose Luis Castillo and Ben Tackie – both well beaten by the Hitman while Lazcano beat the latter and lost on points to Castillo – there should be no need for Hatton to panic at this particular Hispanic. Trainer Billy "The Preacher" Graham says Hatton is raring to go, and the boxer himself says he has improved since Mayweather took away his unbeaten record.

Much is made of Hatton's yo-yo approach to dieting. Out of training, his liking for fry-ups and Guinness can see Hatton balloon to 12st, but his nutritionist Kerry Kayes has just revealed one of Hatton's best kept secrets – the Hitman goes against the established wisdom of starving and thirsting while training.

Instead, said Kayes, Hatton takes on board plenty of lean protein and up to four litres of water per day, and adds what the boxer calls his "super milk shakes" – protein supplements from Kayes' CNP professional sports nutrition range.

"If you are working out hard, your body really needs those nutrients," said Kayes. "The protein supplements ensure your body will recover properly after the exercise without adding fat."

So that's how he does it, then. Another beneficiary of Kayes' approach is Ricky's younger brother Matthew, who has the biggest fight of his career for the Commonwealth welterweight title against holder Craig Watson. It's a real Mancunian tear-up in prospect as both men hail from the city and are ranked close together in the official ratings.

Known to his fans as Magic, at 26 Matthew is already a former Central Area welterweight and light-middleweight champion, and has been a fixture on the undercard in Ricky's recent American forays, defending his IBF intercontinental belt against Edwin Vazquez on the night big brother beat Jose Luis Castillo, and then beating Frankie Santos impressively on the night Ricky lost to Mayweather.

Matthew will never equal his brother's feats, but he should beat Watson and perhaps gain a crack at a world title further down the line.

Chief supporting bout on a juicy undercard is a re-match for the IBF version of the light-welterweight title featuring champion Paulie Malignaggi of the USA against Australia's Lovemore Ndou, with the winner likely to take on Hatton in a unification bout later in the year.

The 'blue moon' – Man City fan Hatton's theme tune – brigade may be in for a shock when they see how good the American is. Malignaggi, known as the Magic Man, easily won his previous encounter against Ndou in Connecticut last June, though most observers felt that the 'Black Panther' wasn't given much of a chance to work inside by referee Eddie Cotton.

Malignaggi is blindingly quick, especially on the counterpunch, and the 27-year-old from New York fights in corresponding fashion to Floyd Mayweather, though not as well.

Will Hatton really want to tackle such a similar fighter again? South African-born Ndou, for his part, is sure that he can reverse his defeat and like most boxers at their weight, he is in awe of the fact that Hatton can draw a huge stadium crowd, with millions worldwide watching on television, for his comeback.

"To me it's an honour to be fighting on a big card like that, fighting in front of around 50,000 people and it goes to show you what a big drawcard Hatton is," said Ndou yesterday. "Coming off a loss, he can still draw a crowd like that – it's amazing."

Other fights on the bill include veteran fighter Andrew 'Smiley' Facey defending his English light-middleweight title against Thomas 'Storm Boy' McDonagh.

For the vast majority of the fans in the stadium, Ricky Hatton is the one and only draw and only two questions remain for them: how quickly will the Hitman cause Panic in the Hispanic, and just where do boxers get these nicknames?