Hatton/Castillo HBO Doubleheader tonight!

In the first HBO televised boxing card of the new year, World Championship Boxing takes viewers to Paris Las Vegas in Las Vegas, NV, where Ricky Hatton will attempt to gain back the IBF Jr Welterweight Title from current beltholder Juan Urango.

Urango won the vacant belt with a questionable decision over Naoufel Ben Rabah, after Hatton vacated it to move up to the welterweight division last May to challenge WBA Welterweight Champion Luis Collazo in Boston. Hatton won a close, and somewhat controversial, unanimous decision over Collazo. After that fight, rather than rematching Collazo, Hatton instead opted to move back down to 140lbs and win his old belt back.

Hatton, who never lost the belt in the ring, is still regarded as the RING Magazine Jr Welterweight Champion, but it is Urango who is defending the IBF belt tonight. On the undercard, Former two-time Lightweight Champion Jose Luis Castillo makes his debut in the jr welterweight division against undefeated Herman Ngoudjo, in what is a WBC title eliminator.

Should Hatton and Castillo win their fights, as they are favored to do, the two will meet a Jr Welterweight super bout later this year.