The sporting world is in mourning after Ricky Hatton was found dead at his home on Sunday morning.
Police were called to his home in Hyde, Manchester where they found his body and the death is not being treated as suspicious.
The British boxing legend was 46 years old and will forever be remembered as one of the most popular fighters from these shores of all time.
A former two-weight world champion, Hatton had spoken openly about his struggles with mental health and had survived suicide attempts in the past.
The Hitman was known for his exciting style in the ring and his down to earth personality out of the it, which earned him a huge fanbase who travelled in their droves to watch him from Manchester to Las Vegas.
With a record of 45-3 over a 15-year period, he was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame last year and the news comes just months after the legendary boxer announced his return the ring with a fight planned in December.
Born in Stockport on October 6, 1978, Richard John Hatton began his working life in the family carpet business but his boxing talents soon saw him turn professional full-time and it didn’t take long for the fans to join his journey.
Famed for his crippling body shots, his relentless and marauding style made him an instant hit with spectators and his legion of followers grew as he climbed the ranks.
He won the British light welterweight title in a bloody battle with Jon Thaxton in 2000, and his victory in a grudge match with Ireland’s Eamonn Magee two years later helped Hatton cross over into the mainstream of British sport.
Hatton was now selling out the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester with ease and his adoring fans watched him demolish a string of international opponents which led him to a world title shot.
His crowning glory came in 2005 when he faced the legendary champion Kostya Tszyu for the IBF world title, a contest for which he was a big underdog. With the fight taking place at 2am for US television, the capacity crowd created a cauldron-like atmosphere in the M.E.N. Arena and his raucous faithful roared their man to a famous victory.
In a pulsating and enthralling battle, Hatton was ahead on all three scorecards and in the ascendency when Tszyu’s corner pulled him out after the 11th round. Hatton dropped to the floor in tears and over 20,000 spectators in the arena went crazy in what was one of the best nights in the history of British boxing.
He stopped Carlos Maussa in a unification bout later that year and was named Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year for 2005, becoming the first British boxer to win the prestigious award.
Then came his famous trips to America. Firstly, he stepped up to welterweight to win another world title against Luis Collazo in Boston, before back-to-back victories in Las Vegas against Juan Urango and Jose Luis Castillo respectively.
Now he was 43-0 and the boxing world wanted to see him take on the best fighter on the planet at the time – Floyd Mayweather Jr. The fans got their wish and in December 2007 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, a genuine superfight took place between the two unbeaten stars.
A reported 35,000 fans made the trip from the UK to Las Vegas for the fight, a feat which is unlikely to ever be repeated, and Sin City was awash with Hatton supporters.
While Hatton wasn’t happy with the constant breaking of the fighters from referee Joe Cortez, it was clear the Manchester native was in with a very special fighter that night and Hatton was dropped twice before being stopped in the 10th session.
However, Hatton was now a bigger star than ever, and he sold out his beloved Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium for his homecoming victory against Juan Lazcano. It was then back to Las Vegas for a TKO victory over Paulie Malignaggi before facing another legendary pugilist in the shape of Manny Pacquiao, but Hatton looked a shadow of his former self as he was brutally knocked out in the second round of that blockbuster in 2009.
He retired and later admitted that the embarrassment of that shocking defeat led to his depression and battle with drink and drugs. After hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons, it was during this period that he attempted suicide, and he has been advocate for mental health ever since.
Hatton appeared to have put his demons behind him when he made a comeback in 2012 against Vyacheslav Senchenko and even though he was stopped in the ninth round of that contest, he was a winner in the eyes of many people for bouncing back and returning to fighting shape.
Hatton always said his greatest achievement was his huge fanbase and we may never see a UK fighter have such a following again. He often quipped that most of his fans in the arena had probably had a pint with him at some point, which sums up how approachable and popular he was.
The time he won the title versus Tszyu remains my favourite night as a boxing fan and I still reminisce about it regularly with the friends I shared that experience with.
As I heard the news this lunchtime, I was genuinely shocked and it hit me hard. I never met Hatton but I felt like I knew him, such was his likeable and candid personality. He felt like ‘one of us’.
Ricky Hatton was a true working-class hero.
As his army of fans sung so many times, there is only one Ricky Hatton. That never seemed truer than it does right now.
