ACE Hatton Promotions matchmaker Richard Poxon has done it again. After getting Scott Lawton a recent EBU title shot, Poxon has now nailed down a vacant European welterweight title challenge for Matthew Hatton, against Italian veteran Gianluca Branco, on the March 26 Anthony Small-Sam Webb Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham show.

Branco was due to meet Ukraine's Yuri Nuzhnenko for the vacant title in February, with Hatton meeting the winner. However, both the Italian and Ukranian camps struggled to secure a TV date for the clash and now it is Nuzhnenko who steps aside to face the Hatton-Branco victor.

Matthew's father Ray was predictably delighted with this turn of events but said that all the rushing around to secure a deal had prevented him from speaking to elder son Ricky about the rumours of his retirement.

"I'm the same as everyone else," Ray said, "I thought he was on his way back. He's been ticking over in the gym so I'm perplexed.

"I think now the team wants him to make a decision when he gets back [from Tenerife] and then we'll have a press conference to announce it."