Barry McGuigan pays heartfelt tribute to Ricky Hatton as former boxing world champion is laid to rest

Thousands of people lined the streets of Manchester on Friday to pay their respects to the “Hitman”

Barry McGuigan paid a personal tribute to Ricky Hatton following his funeral in Manchester on Friday.

Fellow former boxing world champions, sports stars and celebrities attended the service at Manchester Cathedral to pay their respects to the 46-year-old.

Former world featherweight champion McGuigan said Hatton always led by example.

Referencing the large turn-out of fans, many clad in the light blue of Hatton’s beloved Manchester City, McGuigan said: “It’s amazing but it’s not surprising to me because he was such a star, such a great human being.

“I’m up here with my two boys because he demands the respect that a hero in boxing demands. He’s an amazing guy, and he was a phenomenal fighter, just incredible. He brought people together.”

Thousands of people lined the streets of Manchester to pay their respects to the “Hitman”.

Former England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen, Liam Gallagher Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder and Mark “Bez” Berry joined boxers Tyson and Tommy Fury, Frazer Clarke and Natasha Jonas, former boxers Amir Khan, Scott Welch, Frank Bruno and Anthony Crolla, former Manchester City footballer Mike Summerbee, pundit and former footballer Chris Kamara and Hatton’s former trainer Billy Graham.

“For someone who rose to the levels of Ricky Hatton and to remain just one of the normal people, is unbelievable,” said Former world cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew.

“The best memory I have was going to the gym, watching him train for the first time. I was an amateur boxer at the time, just won the ABA title. I watched him train.

“I’ve watched thousands of fighters train over the years, hundreds of thousands, but after watching him, it’s the only fighter I’ve ever thought of and been in awe of them and thought, ‘that’s the standard’.

“An unbelievable person, an unbelievable father and person, always a laugh. He was usually the worst dressed, but he’d still find a way to tear the back out of you.”