Local Sunday football side, Crossflatts FC, put on a good do on Friday night when they brought in Manchester boxer Ricky Hatton for their Sportsman Dinner.

The club were able to bring in such a big-name speaker thanks to sponsorship by local firms, Direct Building Products and Link Telecom.

It was interesting getting the chance to talk to Ricky and hear his views on variety of topics, such as amateur boxing, his training regime including his strict diet but also his thoughts about football.

Hatton spoke about being raised in a football family in Hattersley, and much to my pleasure the Manchester City fan couldn't resist taking the mickey out of Man-chester United's Christiano Ronaldo and propensity to go down easily when challenged by a defender.

"I was hoovering up the other day and when I bumped into the telly, Ronaldo fell down," he joked, bringing some raucous laughter from the crowd.

Hatton also spoke of his appreciation for amateur boxers, who he said are worth their "weight in gold" as they go through all the training and bouts but do not receive any money for their efforts.

He did say the sport is a good way to "get kids off the street" and he said that he would eventually like to work as a promoter for both the professional and amateur game.

Sitting next to Ricky at the dinner table was also an interesting experience. Ricky, who likes a pint of beer, only drank orange and soda water, all of his roast potatoes got shovelled onto his manager's plate and he avoided the chocolate dessert altogether. Although he may be on a diet, Ricky did avoid the healthy green salad he was offered.

Ricky, you know you're supposed to eat your vegetables!