‘Hello, how are you doing?’ Ricky Hatton’s unforgettable Mancunian accent echoed down the phone.
Just seven days before the tragic news of death broke, I called Hatton to speak to him about his return to the ring, the latest goings on in boxing and the Freedom of the City of London award that he was due to receive next month.
It marked the latest award given to Hatton for an incredible career that saw him rise to the summit of the sport and become a world champion in two weight classes.
And yet, tragically, it represents one of the few awards that ‘The Hitman’ will not get to personally hold after his death at the aged 46.
A beloved fighter in his heyday, Hatton had moved into coaching following his retirement in 2012, a transition largely inspired by his desire to try and stay close to a sport that had been his entire life.
That transition had not always proved easy for Hatton, who spoke openly and honestly about his struggles with mental health and addiction after hanging up the gloves.
And yet, when we spoke last weekend, he was his enthusiastic self, speaking with passion and a deep knowledge of the sport that he so clearly still lived and breathed.
He analysed and dissected, with all his expertise, September’s mega-fight between Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Terence Crawford. ‘A great night for boxing’, he promised, and a great night it was, as Crawford cemented his legacy as one of the sport’s finest fighters by becoming an undisputed champion in a third weight division.
But equally, he spoke of his concern at certain things going in the sport, most notably Mike Tyson’s return at almost 60 to take on Floyd Mayweather, his former opponent, in an exhibition bout next year.
Hatton, more than most, understood the thoughts and struggles that Tyson is surely also wrestling with. ‘I sympathise with Mike because it’s so difficult to give up the sport,’ he mused. ‘I’ve been a fighter all my life, and you can’t switch that off. I’m sure he’s the same.’
Dave Allen remembers ‘his mate’ Ricky Hatton
The boxing world is still in mourning following the tragic death of Ricky Hatton in September.
The former world champion impacted the lives of so many he met inside and outside the sport with Allen among them.
Metro was lucky enough to have Ricky as our guest boxing columnist for a year between 2021 and 2022, weighing in on the sport’s endless stream of drama and previewing the biggest fights with us.
Speaking to IFL TV ahead of his fight this weekend, Allen recalled picking up a copy of the newspaper on the bus to find ‘The Hitman’talking about his own career.
I’m on the bus reading Metro, Ricky Hatton used to write a column in the Metro, and it said “my mate Dave Allen is fighting…”
‘And I was so f*****g proud. I couldn’t believe it. Ricky Hatton said I was his mate in the paper. F*****g buzzing I was, on the bus! Because he was a genuine legend of British boxing.
‘He were bigger than boxing as well. We got on pretty well over the years, I used to spar Nathan Gorman down the gym in Hyde a few times a week. He used to grab hold of me and hug me.
‘At the last Johnny Fisher fight I see him in the hotel lobby and he kissed me on the head! So I always got on really well with him. He was my mate and he put it in the paper and I’ve never been so f*****g happy in my life when I saw that.’
Those difficulties in giving up the sport were part of the reason that Hatton had, himself, been lured back to the ring. In 2022, the Brit took on Mexican fighter Marco Antonio Barrera in an exhibition fight and in December this year, was scheduled for his first professional bout in 13 years.
Ever honest, Hatton had no delusions of grandeur about his return, nor any desire to test himself with a high-level fight beyond his capabilities. His scheduled opponent, Eisa Al Dah, had a modest 8-3 record and was the same age as Hatton.
‘It’s a very doable fight,’ he noted. ‘It’s not like Paulie Malignaggi fighting bare knuckle at his age or Mike coming back against Floyd. Mine is a very safe fight.’
Yes, Hatton’s return to the ring was in part to satisfy the competitive fire that still burned deep inside him, but it was also about something far more important than that.
In speaking so candidly about his struggles post-retirement, Hatton had sought to ensure that many others would not suffer in silence and would instead seek help like he had so often done.
And over the phone that weekend, he spoke about his hopes that his latest ring return would continue to inspire more people struggling with their mental health to stay active and keep pushing forward.
As we chatted, Hatton was in the car, travelling to a dinner where he no doubt shared those candid thoughts again. He was keen to mention his work as a motivational speaker and ambassadorial role with a mental health charity, too.
He knew he had a platform to help and was determined to try and do just that right until the very end.
A week on from our chat, his words – and his hopes – carried an added weight. British boxing may have lost one of its most iconic names and faces, but Hatton’s legacy will live on, be that inside or outside the ring.
The Manchester fighter gave many of his adoring fans the nights of their lives, whether it was in his home town winning his first world title against Kostya Tszyu or across the pond in Las Vegas against the likes of Mayweather, Paulie Malignaggi and Manny Pacquiao.
And yet, despite those famous bouts, it would be the fight against himself – his own mind and his own thoughts – that proved the biggest battle of his career.
But in taking that on in the manner that he did, and by talking with such openness and vulnerability about the struggles that followed him until the very end, Hatton has become a symbol of resilience that inspired many.
That feels a legacy more worthwhile than any belt or accolade.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk.
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