Ricky Hatton obituary: British boxing has lost its most beloved son

In a sport blessed with truly remarkable characters, Ricky Hatton MBE was a true one-off, effortlessly likeable and one of the most humane men boxing has seen.

The Hitman’s rise to the summit of the sport captured the imagination of the British public like never before and during that white-knuckle ride, you couldn’t help but be engrossed and enchanted by it all.

From the most humbling beginnings in Stockport where grew up above a council estate pub in Hyde, he was regarded as a one of the most precocious talents to ever walk through the doors of Billy Graham’s gym in Moss Side. Hatton made his professional debut in 1997 at the Kingsway Leisure Centre – a world away from the Las Vegas strip that would become his playground in the years to come.

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With fearsome energy and strength, his crowd-pleasing style left opponents in a daze, bewildering them through the sheer volume of his punches. Hatton’s desire and skillset saw him rapidly rise through the ranks, holding multiple world championships in the light-welterweight and welterweight divisions.

In 2005, he became unified light-welterweight champion. His victory over Kostya Tszyu still stands as perhaps the most celebrated night in British boxing history as the country joined him in Walking in a Hatton Wonderland. The 20,000 in attendance at the old MEN Arena were with him from the moment he began his ringwalk, for every punch thrown and for the jubilant celebrations when he stopped the defending champion in the 11^th round as his dream was achieved.  

Outrageous talent can only get you so far in boxing. It has never been enough and without bravado and charisma, it can break you. Hatton had both in spades. He enraptured everyone he encountered and nights in Manchester and across the country took on new life when Hatton was fighting. The party was soon on the road as his career took to new heights.

In 2007, he first crossed paths with Floyd Mayweather Jr, the best fighter on the planet making obscene money along the way. Neither mattered to Hatton who poked and prodded his rival at every turn. During the wild and chaotic media engagements and press conferences across the city, the unassuming lad from Manchester comfortably held his own, operating like a seasoned stand-up comedian as part of the pre-fight mind games.

‘I’ve missed my son, my six-year-old son,’ Hatton said as the crowd hung on his every word.

‘But I probably haven’t missed him quite as much as you would think because I’ve had the misfortune to spend the full week with another f*****g six-year-old.’

20,000 of his fanatics flew out to Sin City for the Mayweather fight, drinking the place dry. Having left his natural weight class, Hatton came up short that night on an occasion where he was simply beaten by the best in the world, leaving with his head held high.

Hatton and his army had the taste for Vegas and were back out there for the thrilling knockout victory over Paulie Malignaggi a year later, setting up another enormous fight against the legendary Manny Pacquiao. With huge respect between the two men, the build-up was slightly different but still one befitting of what was the biggest fight of the year. Again, fighting a man operating at the very peak of his powers, Hatton was second best, violently knocked out in the second round.

Retirement soon beckoned but Hatton was consumed by depression as he tried to leave the life.

There was an ill-fated comeback. Against Vyacheslav Senchenko back in Manchester in 2012, his world came crashing down when he was stopped for the third time in his career. ‘I needed one more fight to see if I had still got it – and I haven’t,’ Hatton said. ‘I found out tonight it isn’t there no more.’

After boxing, Hatton’s struggles worsened as drugs and alcohol consumed him, left devastated by depression and attempting suicide on multiple occasions.

Hatton continued to fight his demons and became a symbol of resilience, using his darkest moments and his journey back from them to help those around him.

When Tyson Fury mounted his boxing comeback in 2018 after similar battles with depression and substance abuse, Hatton was there for him, helping ‘The Gypsy King’ shed the weight after he ballooned up to 27 stone during his time away from the ring.

His son Campbell sought to follow in his footsteps, turning professional in 2020. With Ricky’s brother Matthew training the young fighter, his dad was a guiding presence in those early stages, offering support and the occasional embarrassing story along thee way.

Over the last decade, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have stepped out as the flagbearers for the sport, making heavyweight boxing in this country a true force once again. Both are hugely popular in their own right, as were Lennox Lewis, Frank Bruno, Chris Eubank Snr and Nigel Benn before them.

But in reality, they couldn’t touch what Hatton brought to the sport and how he spoke to the working man across the country. In his own words, Hatton was a simple man who was happy listening to Oasis and watching Manchester City. Whether he was drinking a pint of Guinness down the local men’s working club or standing in front of thousands on the star-studded strip of Vegas, Hatton was simply loved.

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