"He's got a virus, but he will be ready," he told the Manchester Evening News.

"He has a chest infection and has been struggling with his breathing, so has had a couple of days off.

"With him working that hard, it is making it harder for the antibiotics to work. And when he is under stress, he struggles to catch his breath."

It is not the first time Hatton's big-fight preparations have been hampered by illness. In January 2007 he picked up a similar illness in the build-up to his win over Juan Urango - something he put down to hotel air conditioning.

It took its toll as he faded in the second half of the fight and this time had meant less sparring than usual.

But Ray is confident that his son will shake off the virus in time for Lazcano.

"It's not ideal," he said. "He's not cut the sparring short for nothing, but it won't affect the fight.

"There is no doubt about that. It is a massive show and it is not in jeopardy.

"There are 55,000 people coming. We couldn't just go and find somewhere else that could put that on a couple of weeks later. And Ricky would never hear of that anyway."