Garden's looking very rosy for Ricky

"Ricky has finally entered the world stage, and he has entered it with a marching band," said Larkin, referring to Hatton's 22,000 supporters who turned the cavernous bowl of the MEN into a cauldron of emotion as their hero gradually won a bruising war of attrition.

Tszyu, the 35-year-old Australiabased Russian, picked up a purse of £2.1m for defending against a challenger nine years his junior. Now Hatton, whose unbeaten record is stretched to 39 professional contests, can expect at least the same sort of money by fighting in America.

"The sky is certainly the limit," said Larkin. "We could sit down with Ricky and create three or four fights with him which would be feature fights of the year, no question, because that style of his will go down a bomb with American audiences.

"He just didn't stop for 11 rounds against Tszyu. He threw punches straight for 33 minutes and he retired Tszyu, a boxing machine."

Larkin's list of possible opponents for Hatton include Miguel Cotto, the impressive young Puerto Rican who is unbeaten in 23 fights and who holds the WBO title, and also Diego Corrales.

Corrales was at ringside in Manchester and, when introduced to the crowd, received a generous ovation from knowledgeable fans who appreciated the bravery he displayed in winning a recent challenge for the WBC lightweight title against Jose Luis Castillo that vies for inclusion in the list of greatest fights of all time.

Hatton fought at Madison Square Garden in only his second professional fight in December 1997 when he outpointed Robert Alvarez over four rounds and Larkin is looking forward to a sensational return.

He said: "I would love to see Ricky fight Corrales in Madison Square Garden in the first quarter of 2006. With two brawlers like they are, it would be an epic."