Thousands of people are expected to fill the streets of Greater Manchester as Ricky Hatton takes his last ride through the city he fought for, bled for and was proud of. The 18-kilometer procession will start at 9:45 a.m. from ul Cheshire Cheese Pub in Hydeone of Hatton’s senior haunts where pints once flowed as freely as his left hook.
The route will pass through places associated with his life and career – the gyms, pubs and roads that shaped ‘Hitman’ from a working-class kid into a world champion who catapulted Manchester into the boxing spotlight. Everything ends at Manchester Cathedralwhere a private memorial service will be held for family and close friends.
Ricky Hatton has never been the glamorous superstar type. It wasn’t made for velvet ropes or dainty tributes. He was Manchester to the core – cheeky, working class and true. And four days before his death at the age of 46, he said that what mattered most to him was to be remembered as “one of the boys.”
The man we knew Hitman was found dead at his home in Manchester on Sunday, September 14. The shock shook British boxing and beyond. He spent decades throwing hooks that shook arenas, and yet he had no desire for more belts or headlines. It was belonging – being loved like Frank Bruno, adored by his hometown and accepted by fans who saw themselves in him.
He added: “I’d rather be Ricky Hatton than the greatest of all time, but for everyone to think I’m a publicity head.” For a player who has amassed 22,000 in the MEN Arena and 30,000 in Las Vegas, that says it all. People remember me as a damn warrior, but also as one of the boys.
Fame never changed a mansion kid
Hatton told Barker that his life remained close to his roots even after the glory. “Life changed for me, my children and my family the moment I beat Kostya Tszyu. But I don’t think I’ve changed much. Even today, the gym I run and the house I have are just 10 minutes from the council estate I grew up on. I haven’t moved beyond a 10-mile radius.”
“Even with all the frosty things I’ve achieved through boxing, I still go to the local venue and play darts on a Monday night and play football for the vets on a Sunday afternoon. My mates now are still the same mates I went to school with, no delayed newbies, always the same mates.”
This stubborn loyalty – to pubs, friends, Manchester City and the same senior streets – was what fans felt. He was a hero who could walk into any pub and not have to buy beer. Kids who have never seen him fight live still stop him to take photos because they’ve seen the clips and got a sense of realism.
Fighting your own shadow, helping others in their shadows
Hatton has made no secret of life after his boxing injury. Losses to Mayweather and Pacquiao left scars and depression set in. But he didn’t want to stay down. He received lend a hand. He then used his pain to lend a hand others.
“I didn’t want to tell my friends or family, I didn’t want to worry them, so I kept it a secret,” he told Barker. “I went to the gym or the pub and I was the life of the party, even more than usual, because I was trying to compensate for what was going on inside me.
“Nobody knew and it was very challenging. I thought I could deal with it on my own, but I couldn’t. The best thing I did was realize that I could beat him, I could do this or that, but I couldn’t solve it on my own and I had to talk to someone and that’s the best thing I did.”
“You feel like you can talk to a stranger better than your family or friends. You don’t go out with boys – and I have good friends – but you don’t feel like that. I had a fight with my mom and dad, I broke up with my wife, and I didn’t want to worry the rest of the family. So you keep it inside, you keep it inside, and it festeres.”
Once he got lend a hand, Hatton used his experience to lend a hand others. “Some of my boxers tell me they paid off their mortgages and thank me. That’s what I mean,” he said. Letters arrived from people who heard his story and found hope. This gave him a purpose: “I’m glad I helped others.”
A warrior who never left us
Hatton didn’t want statues or sainthood. He wanted to be the boy from down the street who made it, but he never looked down on anyone. That’s a rarity in boxing – or anywhere else. And maybe that’s why the news of his death touched us so deeply.
He endured brutal nights, public defeats, private battles, and still found the strength to tell a bullied kid to keep his head down in the days before we left. If that’s not greatness, then what is?
Take it effortless, Ricky. You were one of us and you will always be one of the Boys.
Watch the full interview:
Amy Kaplan has been a boxing fan since she was 10, which means she’s spent most of her life explaining to people that, yes, she actually prefers fight nights to dinner. Now he writes for Boxing News 24 and covers everything from world title fights to prospects eyeing a payday. He combines pointed analysis with sarcasm, calling out boxing politics and cutting through the noise of press releases to bring fans the stories that really matter.
Terence Crawford faced and defeated 42 different opponents during a 17-year career, but super-middleweight icon Carl Froch believes that there is one welterweight who would have put an end to Crawford’s unbeaten streak if they were to meet in their primes.
Crawford became the first post-war boxer to claim the undisputed title in three separate weight divisions last September; a run which began as a super-lightweight in 2015 by defeating Thomas Dulorme, then unifying against Viktor Postol before halting Julius Indongo in an undisputed title showdown.
‘Bud’ then moved on to the welterweight scene and knocked out Jeff Horn to capture the WBO world title on his 147lb debut, making five defences of the title before colliding with fierce rival and three-belt unified titleholder, Errol Spence Jr, in 2023.
In a unforgettable fight, Crawford brutally beat Spence down in an authoritative ninth-round stoppage win to capture the undisputed welterweight throne. Talk then turned to an unprecedented three-weight move up to super-middleweight to take on Canelo Alvarez.
After stopping off at super-welterweight to dethrone Israil Madrimov on his way up, Crawford debuted at super-middleweight in a challenge for Canelo’s undisputed crown and outboxed the Mexican superstar in an iconic win last year, hanging up the gloves three months later.
Despite those legendary achievements, Froch picked Floyd Mayweather Jr to come out on top in a potential fantasy fight against the Omaha southpaw, in an episode of ‘Froch on Fighting’.
Mayweather’s achievements speak for themselves, retiring with a perfect 50-0 unbeaten record after claiming world honours in five divisions, with his most impressive reign coming at 147lbs, where he defeated the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley.
Mayweather has been rumoured to make a comeback, but while there would be huge finances that would be on offer, Crawford has revealed that he would have no interest in ending his retirement for a bout with ‘TBE’, believing that the 49-year-old is ‘old’ and ‘done’.
Terence Crawford has been hailed by many as the best fighter of this generation following his retirement, and now WBC welterweight title hopeful Conor Benn has shared how he thinks ‘Bud’ would have fared against six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya.
Crawford became boxing’s sixth five-division world champion with an iconic win over Canelo Alvarez back in September; joining Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in that elite and exclusive club reserved only for legends of the sport.
Of that group, only De La Hoya and Pacquiao have gone on to conquer a sixth division, with De La Hoya’s 2004 WBO middleweight world title win over Felix Sturm seeing the Californian become the first boxer to ever become a sextuple champion.
Crawford could have joined ‘’The Golden Boy’ and ‘Pac-Man’ in achieving that feat, having been offered a middleweight world title shot during the aftermath of his triumph over Canelo late last year – a proposal which later fell apart due to a failed doping test by Janibek Alimkhanuly.
Continuing the praise that the Omaha-born southpaw has received since announcing his retirement last December, Benn told Daily Mail Boxing that he would favour the undefeated star to get the better of De La Hoya, if they were to meet in their primes.
Benn also went on to predict that Crawford would retain his unbeaten streak against other greats of the game, picking him to come out on top against each of Mayweather, Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker and Roberto Duran.
Top trainer and former world champion Robert Garcia has considered the outcome of a fantasy showdown between Terence Crawford and Manny Pacquiao.
The two generational greats reportedly came close to squaring off in 2021, back when Crawford was the WBO welterweight champion and ‘Pac Man’ held the WBA title.
Their unification match never materialised, though, as Pacquiao was scheduled to face Errol Spence Jr before ‘The Truth’ pulled out with a torn retina.
Instead, the Filipino legend ended up losing his WBA title to Yordenis Ugas at a stage when, while still serviceable, he was quite clearly past his best.
Crawford, meanwhile, was hitting top form around this time, just a few fights away from producing arguably a career-best performance against Spence.
He did, of course, manage to stop his welterweight rival in nine rounds, before moving up to 168lbs and becoming a three-division undisputed champion by dethroning Canelo Alvarez last September.
Based on those two performances, coach Garcia has told ESNEWS that he would favour ‘Bud’ to defeat even a prime version of Pacquiao.
“The Crawford that beat Spence – and the Crawford that beat Canelo – would probably beat Manny.”
While Crawford’s prime almost certainly came during his run of eight stoppages at welterweight, it is harder to pinpoint when Pacquiao ultimately reached his peak.
In terms of his most destructive performance at world level, however, many will point towards his second-round finish over Ricky Hatton in 2009.
While facing the ‘Hitman’ at 140lbs, Pacquiao would cement himself as a formidable welterweight champion soon after, dethroning Miguel Cotto with a 12th-round stoppage for the WBO title.
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