Boxing news: Ricky Hatton wants to 'slap' Cristiano Ronaldo as brutal admission made

Ronaldo had two stints at City's fierce rivals Manchester United earlier in his career.

He propelled the Red Devils to three straight Premier League titles between 2007 and 2009 during his first spell at Old Trafford.

And Ronaldo then added to his United legacy by scoring 27 goals across all competitions following his Hollywood homecoming in 2021.

Mighty Tips asked Hatton who he'd love to go up against in the ring.

And the 45-year-old responded by saying: "Cristiano Ronaldo.

“He used to play for Man United.

"United fans love him, he’s good looking so why would you not want to give him a slap?

"I’d have to catch him first, but he was certainly some player, wasn’t he?”

While Hatton fighting Ronaldo seems impossible, the Al-Nassr star has experience of being in the ring.

Speaking last year, Ronaldo revealed he considered pursuing a career in boxing when he was attempting to break through into the Sporting Lisbon first team.

"From the beginning, I only thought about soccer, soccer.

"But there was a moment, when Sporting was so hard, that I thought I would have preferred another sport, like boxing."

Ronaldo did admit, however, that he felt he wasn't born with the boxing gift.

"I don't think I could have been a boxer, it's hard," he stated.

"You have to be born for that, with that gift. I was born to be a professional footballer.

"I thought I had that gift from the beginning, and I said to myself, 'I'm going to grab this opportunity with both my hands.'"

Hatton, meanwhile, has revealed the actual boxer he'd love to fight is Roberto Duran.

“Roberto Duran was my favourite of all time," he revealed.

“It’d have been interesting to have been in the ring with him and find out how good he was. It’d have been a very painful night in the ring.

“I think Cristiano Ronaldo or Roberto Duran would be my two dream matches.”

And, on appearing on ITV show Dancing on Ice, Hatton added: “I’m a bit worried because I can’t dance on a dancefloor, so I don’t know how I’m going to do.

“But if you look at ice skating, I haven’t had a lesson, yet I start them next week and have two months of lessons coming before Christmas, and then we start it in January but there’s a lot of hard work and effort to come.

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“As a boxer, you have to have good balance, shifting your bodyweight, upper body movement and having a strong upper body for the lifts and the best attribute I had in the ring was my footwork.

"I hope I’m about to take to it!”