Hatton lacked his usual spark and the body shots for which he is famous were notable by their absence as Collazo’s slippery southpaw skills threatened to spoil his American dream.

And in a grandstand finish Hatton was almost out on his feet in round 12 before he came through, roared on by a sizeable contingent of his travelling fans.

By the time Hatton’s arm was raised in victory the memories of his lightning start had faded and been replaced by proof of how hard life at 147lbs is going to be.

Disappointed Collazo, calling for an immediate rematch in England, added: “I thought a guy had to do more than that to take away my title.”

However, Hatton insisted: “I think every round was close and competitive but I thought I was ahead – absolutely.

“Knocking him down that early was probably the worst thing I could have done because I went in to finish him – I had a rush of blood to the head and he was very clever and he knew how to look after himself.

“But every time I was under pressure and he was getting in control, I upped the tempo and pulled away again.”

Relinquishing his lighter weight title to move up for the first time, Hatton had been expected to bull through Collazo, whose 26-1 record had been compiled largely at a lesser level.

However, the Mancunian told Sky Box Office: “A lot of people weren’t giving me credit before the fight because he wasn’t as well known as some of the big welterweights, but I knew he was a good fighter.

“It’s a long time since I’ve fought a southpaw, it was my first big fight in America, first at a new weight and against a world champion, so it was always going to be tough.

“I tried too hard to put a show on, as usual, but I got away with it and I’m sure everyone loved it.”

It looked likely to be a different story when Hatton blazed out of his corner from the first bell and dumped Collazo heavily with a tremendous left hand.

Caught cold more than anything, Collazo got up but was forced back into a defensive shell by Hatton’s relentless pursuit and was managing no retaliation of note.

Things changed by round three when despite a cut on the top of his head, the fast-punching Collazo began to tie up his opponent and discover the blueprint for future success.

Collazo connected with a neat left hook in the fourth round and two more rights before the half-way line as Hatton struggled to find his way through.

Hatton improved a little during the seventh and eighth but continued to labour through a scrappy contest and the cleaner work again came from Collazo, who landed a fine eighth-round right.

Hatton began to gain some return for his efforts in the ninth, with two clean lefts stopping the counter-punching champion in his tracks. But Collazo’s response was a good right hand.

Hatton dredged up a couple of powerful right hands to impress the judges in the crucial latter rounds but neither fighter was able to exert their authority to any real effect until the final three minutes.

Collazo bundled Hatton to the floor early in the final round and, although it was rightly deemed a slip, followed up with a couple of huge lefts to rock the challenger.

Hatton is nothing if not brave, however, and rallied to keep to the champion at bay, although he may have been a shade fortunate not to have been in with a more lethal puncher.

“He was awkward, cagey, very good defensively and hit a lot harder than I thought,” admitted Hatton.

“He was very heavy-handed but he never shook me up. The last round was a shock but I just had to grab him, hold him and make him miss.

“It was a bit like I was against Eamonn Magee. It was a bit of a shock but I knew what I was doing.”

Now despite emerging as a two-time champion, Hatton will be the first to admit it is back to the drawing board in order to steel himself for sterner tests at 147lbs that lie ahead.

“If a good offer came in to go back down to light-welterweight I could do that, but all the big names are at welterweight so we’ll have to see,” he declared.