A year ago today, British boxing lost one of its most beloved heroes in Ricky Hatton.
‘The Hitman’ took us all on a white-knuckle ride as he ascended to the summit of the sport, leaving behind a towering legacy. While Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Lennox Lewis, Frank Bruno and plenty more from these shores provided us with unforgettable drama and compelling entertainment, none of them enraptured us quite like Hatton did when he went to work on a Saturday night.
While a ferocious operator inside the ring, Hatton was vulnerable outside of it. Boxing is a lonely, brutal sport and for many fighters, it is only once the spotlight fades does the real battle begin. Hatton was among those lost souls, struggling desperately with his mental health and substance abuse after hanging up his gloves in 2012. It is a story all too familiar in the boxing world with each case heartbreaking in its own right.
Hatton was found at his home in Hyde by his long-time manager and friend Paul Speak. He was set to travel to Dubai the following day and was in training for a return to the ring later that year. In March, a coroner concluded she ‘cannot be satisfied’ that Hatton had intended to take his own life.
The inquest also heard the 46-year-old had been suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that may have affected his behaviour. Hatton spoke courageously on his struggles over the years and for many, he became a symbol of resilience, supported so warmly by those closest to him. But his death was a stark reminder how many former professionals suffer in silence.
However a boxer finishes their career, financially comfortable or otherwise, the need for aftercare is desperately real. Leading the never-ending fight to support retired boxers is Dave Harris, the chairman of The Ringside Charitable Trust. He founded the organisation in 2019 with the aim of helping those who are struggling after hanging up their gloves. The Trust has campaigned tirelessly, planning to open a residential care home for former professionals who are now vulnerable, dealing with dementia, depression, addiction or injuries from their time in the ring.
They hope to open a 24-bed facility to help look after the growing number of former professionals who have found themselves with nowhere else to go. On more than one occasion, Harris has had former world champions ‘sobbing down the phone’, broken by the sport and now living with the consequences of it.
Unlike many of the men Harris encounters, Hatton had not been cast aside by the sport. At 46, he was a manager, occasional pundit and a trainer for emerging young talent. He had friends, family and money but was still vulnerable.
After his death, prominent figures queued up to call for greater care and support for fighters leaving the ring. 12 months on, Harris feels there has been no real progress.
‘There was all the talk,’ Harris told Metro when asked if boxing has learned any lessons since losing Hatton. ‘But where is the duty of care? I still see these men and their families in torment.
‘We have had many boxers over the last few die by suicide and we have also saved many boxers from dying by suicide. We’ve put a lot of effort in but boxing has still done nothing. When Ricky Hatton died, a number of leading figures said we all need to do more. But the lack of support is worse than sad, it is disgusting. We have a sport that shows no interest in those it has earned all this money from in the past.
‘And there will be loads more. I can see it happening in front of me with fighters still fighting or still trying to fight when they shouldn’t. The problem is being compounded. We all have a duty of care in life.’
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Filling the void after a life in the ring is a brutal challenge. From their teenage years, fighters are bound by discipline, spending years locked away in gyms and fight camps. For the lucky few, there is transformational riches and infamy. But when the ride stops, what’s next?
‘There are so many fighters in that situation. Fighters that were household names that are in that situation. Because in our fight game, the aftercare doesn’t exist,’ former world champion Johnny Nelson said, having experienced his own struggles when he retired in 2005 after walking away as the longest reigning cruiserweight champion in history.
‘It is so lonely, so dark .You think it is just happening to you. You are losing your memory, your speech is going. You’re angry and you don’t know why. Something is wrong and you don’t know who to blame or what it is.
‘This is the tip of the iceberg. In the real world, when you finish boxing the consequences of what is happening are very real. How will I pay my bills and feed my family? It is pure despair on top of despair. It can get too much. And if it can happen to Ricky, it can happen to anyone. That is the worry in the sport and that’s why we need to try and foresee these things the best we can.’
Another former world champion in Darren Barker recalls feeling satisfied with what he had accomplished when his time came. The Londoner won the IBF middleweight title in his penultimate fight in 2013, retiring later that year when a recurring hip injury struck in a title defence against Felix Sturm.
‘I retired and was content. So that was one thing that really helped me,’ Barker said. ‘One thing, regardless of you being content or not, I think the feeling of winning, the feeling of glory, the feeling of worth that you get when you fight and win, you do well, there is no other. So how do you replace that? So that’s where some struggle.
‘I will forever miss that and unfortunately that won’t leave me. But I am fortunate in the sense that I am content, but some aren’t. Some really struggle to walk away and it is sad to see.’
Last year, Hatton sat down with Barker in what turned out to be the final interview of his life in a searingly poignant chat between the retired champions and a perfect reminder today of the honest, funny and endearing local lad Hatton is remembered as. In Hatton’s memory, Barker has been swimming and cycling almost 2,000 miles from Edinburgh to Morocco for ‘The Longest Round’, raising money for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) which concludes today.
‘The whole reason I am doing this is in memory of Ricky,’ Barker continued. ‘So whenever there were any tough parts of the journey – his memory and the others that are out there that are suffering, that got me through the difficult parts and spurred me on. Ricky will always be a hero of mine and I just wanted to do it for him.’
What is next for aftercare in boxing?
Harris has sought help from the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC), pushing for one per cent of a fighter’s purse to go into a fund to aid them further down the road. But he has all but given up on men and women of influence in boxing stepping forward to help, with the RCT going out on their own to make their plans a reality.
He recalled the life of Jimmy Batten, one of British boxing’s endearing characters of the 70s and 80’s who went the distance with the legendary Robert Duran in 1982. Batten died aged 70 earlier this month after battling Parkinson’s disease. South London’s Jimmy Revie, another former British champion who now lives with dementia, is another who would have a place in the Trust’s home if they had the funding they needed.
‘We’ve been holding back the sea. But we will get there,’ Harris said.
Earlier this year, the BBBoC joined up with Sporting Chance, the group founded by Arsenal and England legend Tony Adams to offer help to those struggling. All British boxing licence holders were given access to their helplines.
Nelson meanwhile has his own plans. He counts himself fortunate for having legendary trainer and mentor Brendan Ingle in his life as he left the sport. Recently, he has been developing a savings scheme which he believes will go some way in securing the financial future of boxers, whatever level of the sport they operate on.
‘We want to create a net to help fighters and ensure they have something to look forward to,’ Nelson said. ‘There’s lots of momentum right now meetings right now with the banks, getting the BBBoC behind it. Everything is in place. Our next step is to approach the broadcasters. I hope it can become international with the options there for fighters. I wish it was there when I boxed but I think it’s something that will be appreciated.’
On the first anniversary of his death, Hatton will be remembered as one of the best to emerge from this country. It may also serve as a reminder that boxing itself must strive to be the best in looking after its own.