Ricky Hatton announced that he's ending a 13-year retirement to take on Eisa Al Dah on December 2 in Dubai.
"The Hitman" Hatton turns 47 in October.
The development was revealed during a show promoted by Al Dah in Dubai on Sunday, with Hatton video conferencing live to begin ramping up his comeback.
"I'm very much looking forward to it," said Hatton. "What [Al Dah is] trying to do there for boxing in Dubai is fantastic. Hopefully this will be a spinoff for more events for you to have over there and hopefully we can get the ball rolling with a bang. Hopefully it will be an ongoing thing because there are a lot of British fight fans in Dubai. There is a market for it."
Hatton (45-3, 32 KOs) is a 2024 Hall of Fame inductee and a former Ring champion at 140 pounds and a titleholder at 147 pounds. He last fought in November 2012, suffering a 9th-round stoppage defeat to Vyacheslav Senchenko.
In the previous fight before that, the Manchester native Hatton was hammered by Manny
Pacquiao in just two rounds in May 2009. Twenty years have passed since Hatton was at the peak of his powers stopping Kostya Tszyu in 2005 and parlaying a career-best win into a big-money matchup against
Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2007.
"The Arabian Warrior" Al Dah (8-3, 4 KOs) is 46 and has fought obscure competition on and off since 2007. Al Dah has fought only once since 2012, a 1st-round TKO loss against Pedro Alejandro Delgado in July 2021 in Mexico.
"It's my pleasure to fight a legend like you," said Al Dah. "I'm not looking for money. I am looking for history. If I lose the fight, my head will be up. I promise you ... Trust me guys: This fight will not be like Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul. This will be a true fight, true action, and I will do my best."
Manouk Akopyan is The Ring's lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.