Ricky Hatton was found dead at his home in Greater Manchester on Sunday morning, with police confirming that the former world champion’s death is not being treated as suspicious
Ricky Hatton confessed he was thrilled about getting back into boxing for his planned comeback bout in what has now become a tragic final interview, following the death of the British sporting legend.
The ex-fighter, aged 46, was discovered at his residence in Hyde, Greater Manchester, where police have established a cordon.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed that officers had located a body at Hatton’s property and stated the death was not considered suspicious.
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A GMP spokesman revealed: “We can confirm that we have found a body at an address on Bowlacre Road in Gee Cross at 6.45am today, Sunday, September 14. The death is not being treated as suspicious.”
Hatton was due to step back into the ring this December, where he was poised to take on Dubai’s inaugural professional pugilist, Eisa Al Dah, reports the Mirror.
The contest would have marked his first professional encounter in 13 years, having retired his gloves following his loss to Vyachslav Senchenko in Manchester back in 2012.
That clash with the Ukrainian fighter came three-and-a-half years after his initial departure from the sport when he suffered a knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas.
Hatton, who was set to celebrate his 47th birthday in October, did stage a comeback to boxing in 2022 when he took on fellow legend Marco Antonio Barrera in an eight-round exhibition contest.
The former welterweight and light-welterweight world champion discussed his planned fight in July this summer and expressed his enthusiasm about returning to the professional circuit. Hatton, in a livestream announcement about his upcoming fight, revealed that an eye injury had prevented him from attending the event in person.
He said: “I wish I was there but I had a little bad injury on my eye. The main thing is the fight will take place and I can’t wait, I’m really looking forward to it.
“It’s just one of them freakish things, I caught one of my sunglasses in my eyes and I’m very fortunate it’s not done any permanent damage. It’s just scraped the surface, so fingers crossed we’re good to go.”
Hatton has been candid about his struggles with depression and addiction, and he takes pride in the positive impact he’s had on others facing similar challenges. In an exclusive interview with SunSport, he previously stated: “It inspired a lot of people, you know, for me to get in shape again at the age I’m at.
“Especially bearing in mind all my problems I’ve had personally with mental health and stuff like that. It was nice for so many people to come up to me and go, ‘Oh, I’ve always struggled with my weight and to see you get it off at your age.'”.
“I’ve always struggled with my mental health and I’ve had my problems. And to see where you were a few years ago to what you’re doing now, it’s inspirational.”
Hatton boasts an impressive 45-3 record from his 15-year boxing career. His crowning achievement came in 2005 when he defeated Kostya Tszyu to claim the IBF and The Ring light-welterweight titles.
He successfully defended those titles in four subsequent victories before squaring off against Floyd Mayweather in the most challenging fight of his career. Unfortunately, he suffered a TKO defeat to the American in his quest to secure the WBC and The Ring welterweight championships.
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