Junior Witter reckons arch-rival Ricky Hatton will retire rather than ever face him in a ring.

Witter says he is the only credible opponent left for Hatton, who is still licking his wounds from last weekend’s two-round destruction by Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas.

Hatton is now pondering whether to hang up his gloves or try to rebuild his reputation with one last grand hurrah in England.

Bradford ace Witter, who has been chasing his light-welterweight foe for years, insists he would be the obvious opponent, and that’s why the Mancunian warrior will call it a day.

Witter said: “If I was Ricky Hatton, I would have fought me first!

“And if he comes back there’s only one real fight to put him back on top and that’s against me.

“He doesn’t want to work with Frank Warren, so that rules out Amir Khan. And he doesn’t want to box me period.

“That’s the fight the fans and the media want to see. But it won’t happen.

“His family will want him to retire – and he’s a multi-millionaire who doesn’t need to fight again for the money.”

Witter tipped Pacquiao to be too strong but never imagined such a one-sided encounter which has stunned the boxing world.

“I can’t remember a world title when somebody got absolutely blazed like that,” he added. “Hatton’s loss to Floyd Mayweather was a big beating but that was a total annihilation.

“Hatton might have had a little weight advantage but that doesn’t correlate with punch power. And as much as he’s got an awesome body shot, he is not a big puncher.

“Every right hook from Pacquiao had an effect and drained him. Then the straight lefts rocked his head back.

“From the first 30 seconds you could see there was only one winner.

“The finishing punch itself was one in a million. You don’t get a better performance than that.”

Witter is preparing for a summer clash with unbeaten American southpaw Devon Alexander – and the chance to win back the WBC title belt he lost a year ago.

But he admits that talk of a much-hyped battle of Britain against Hatton will remain just that.

Witter said: “I don’t think last week changes anything. Before the fight, I thought Hatton would retire and, after the beating he took, he’s got to now.

“What’s beating him now is speed and I’m quick and powerful; everything he doesn’t want to be up against. So there’s no way he will want it.

“I bet if he could give back the £8m he got for facing Pacquiao and wipe that fight off his record, he’d do that now.

“Unfortunately, that’s the crowning memory of his career. People will remember Hatton for three fights: winning against Kostya Tszyu, getting beaten up by Floyd and the annihilation from Pacquiao.”