Ricky Hatton survived the worst moment of his career to decision Eamonn Magee over 12 rounds in Manchester.

Hatton was floored in the first minute of the fight, badly stunned in the second round and needed to use his boxing skills to repel the challenge of Magee.

Fighting in front of his hometown fans at the MEN Arena, Hatton employed smart boxing tactics from the fifth round onwards and was the recipient of a wide points win.

The judges scored the contest 116-111 (twice) and 115-112.

The fight was for the lightly regarded WBU junior welterweight title, which Hatton has held for over a year.

Hatton began the contest by going right at Magee but his battleplan was torn apart by a chopping right hand counter which put the champion on the seat of his shorts.

It was the first time Hatton had been floored as a professional and although he seemed to clear his head very quickly, Magee assumed early control of the fight.

Fighting from the left-handed southpaw stance, Magee's slashing left hands and jabs kept Hatton off balance for the majority of the opening stages.

More right hands unhinged Hatton's legs during the second and it appeared that he was in more trouble than at any stage of his career, including the knockdown in the previous round.

By the fifth, Hatton had subdued Magee to a degree - the ferocity of attacks from the now stationary Irishman had diminished.

But Hatton refused to go back to the 'phone booth' war style that is very much a part of his style and elected to fight in flurries, throwing clusters of punches and then moving out of Magee's range.

Aside from maybe two of the first four rounds and a couple of the final three rounds, Magee did not score with any regularity.

It added proof to the theory that the Irishman is not an effective fighter when he has to set the tempo.

Magee tried other methods to goad Hatton into his kind of battle, sometimes waving his right hand as if eager for more punishment, but his younger opponent did not accept the bait.

It made for a fight which, while always captivating, never contained the sustained action which one associates with classic contests.

The win was Hatton's 29th consecutive victory, with 23 of those coming by knockout.

Magee suffered his third loss, with 23 wins (18 KOs) coming during his seven year professional career.