At the after-fight party in Las Vegas, on the night Ricky Hatton suffered the first – and most devastating – defeat of his career, his mother Carol gave him a talking-to.
‘You’re 29-years-old,’ she told him. ‘You’re a millionaire. You’ve got a lovely son, a lovely family, a lovely girlfriend. You’ve not been told you’ve got a terminal disease – it’s just a boxing match.’
Carol, who ran a market stall, was the one woman with an enduring influence on Hatton, who was found dead at his home yesterday aged 46. He was discovered at his £1.7million mansion, near Hyde, Greater Manchester, after a member of the public called the police – who said his death was not being treated as suspicious.
Ricky respected and even feared his mother. ‘Mum’s frightening,’ he said. ‘Her Rice Krispies don’t go ‘snap, crackle and pop!’ – they go, ‘Sshh, she’s coming.’ ‘
But he was never able to grasp the truth of that maternal wisdom. To him, every fight was much more than ‘just a boxing match’. His career was what held him together, emotionally and physically – and when it ended, he was powerless to prevent the slide into alcoholism, drug abuse and debilitating mental illness.
That came with a succession of high-profile relationships, the most recent with Coronation Street actress Claire Sweeney. They dated for eight months after both competing last year on ITV‘s Dancing On Ice.
Before that came a brief affair with glamour model Chelsea Claire, who was 14 years his junior, as well as a series of short-lived flings with other women. Photos of Hatton with his latest flame invariably showed him clutching a drink.
For the fans who adored his quick wit and generous spirit, his dark side was tragic to witness.
After Ricky Hatton’s death at the age of 46 was announced on Sunday, tributes flooded in for the Brit
Hatton was due to return to the ring in December and also took up coaching after retiring. Pictured: Hatton (centre) between Noel (right) and Liam (left) Gallagher
That ill-fated fight in 2007 pitched him against Floyd Mayweather, regarded by many as the best boxer of his generation.
Ricky ‘the Hitman’ Hatton, by then a professional boxer for ten years, had alternated between light-welterweight and welterweight, winning world titles in both divisions and was unbeaten in 43 fights.
But he had been struggling with his fitness, veering from 10 to 13st. The Hitman had a new nickname: Fatty Hatton.
He joked that he’d brought it on himself through his addiction to the all-day ‘Mega breakfasts’ at his favourite cafe, the Butty Box in Hyde, his hometown: three rashers of bacon, three sausages, two hash browns, two eggs, two black puddings, two slices of spam, mushrooms, beans, a tomato and two slices of buttered toast, with a cup of sweet tea.
His supporters loved him for that man-of-the-people swagger, and he played up to the image. ‘I think people come and watch me because he’s one of the lads,’ he said of himself. ‘He goes and watches City, has a pie and a pint at the match.’
An astonishing 35,000 Brits followed him to Vegas for the Mayweather match, David Beckham among them. Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt were among the US contingent. Tom Jones sang the UK national anthem.
Hatton was floored twice by Mayweather’s punches. The second barrage left him unable to rise but bravely begging, ‘Get me up,’ to his corner.
At the ringside, his girlfriend Jennifer Dooley was retching in terror. For the next ten minutes, she sobbed inconsolably.
Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton lands a punch on Kostya Tszyu in June 2005. In one of the biggest ever upsets in the history of boxing, Hatton won
Ricky Hatton celebrates defeating Mexico’s Jose Luis Castillo after a fourth-round stoppage in Las Vegas in 2007
Ricky Hatton celebrates defeating Jose Luis Castillo with friend Wayne Rooney in 2007
The boxing icon was found at his home (pictured) in Greater Manchester this morning, where a police cordon currently sits outside. His death is not being treated as suspicious
Ricky Hatton with his MBE at Buckingham Palace in 2007
Hatton lost all self-confidence after that defeat. ‘Me head fell off after the Mayweather fight,’ he said.
Born in 1978 and brought up on the Hattersley estate in Hyde (notorious as the 1960s home of the Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley), he started boxing at 11 after being bullied at primary school.
Six years later, a top trainer named Bill Graham – known to everyone as ‘the Preacher’ – came to see him spar.
‘The hair stood up on the back on my neck,’ he said. ‘He was the best of his age I’d ever seen.’
Hatton stayed an amateur until he was 18, working as a carpet fitter for his father Ray’s business.
He won his first pro fight in 1997 and fought his second at Madison Square Garden in New York. In 1999 he was named Britain’s Young Boxer of the Year, and two years later claimed his first world title.
Before fights, he trained ferociously. The booze binges after victory became legendary.
For weeks after the Mayweather defeat, he said he was embarrassed to step outside his door.
His parents installed a gym in the cellars for him when he was 12, which punters would come down to to cheer him on as he hit the bag over and over. Pictured: Mr Hatton fighting Floyd Mayweather in 2007
The British boxing icon celebrates after winning the WBA light-welterweight title when he defeated Carlos Maussa
Ricky Hatton’s turbulent love life was regularly in the headlines, most recently his relationship with Dancing On Ice co-star Claire Sweeney in 2024
But his comeback fight was a triumph. Returning to light-welterweight, he beat Mexican Juan Lazcano in front of 55,000 at the City of Manchester stadium in 2008.
At his next fight, against Paulie Malignaggi, Hatton’s belts were carried into the ring by pals Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis. But in 2009 he suffered his second crushing defeat, KO’d by Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines.
Video footage later captured him on a ten-hour bender at a Manchester hotel, cutting lines of cocaine with his credit card. That night he downed 11 pints of Guinness, four vodkas, two glasses of wine and sambuca cocktails.
But for long-suffering fiancee Jennifer Dooley, the most distressing aspect of the video was Hatton’s obvious closeness with another woman, Irish boxing star Emma Bowe.
As well as a son, Campbell, by a previous relationship, he had two daughters, Millie and Fearne, with Jennifer.
The family split up and, as everything fell apart for Hatton, he also argued bitterly with his parents over money.
‘It was rock bottom,’ he said. ‘I was thinking, I haven’t got boxing any more, I haven’t got a missus any more, I haven’t got Mam and Dad any more. What am I doing here? I wanted to kill myself.’
Instead, he sought psychiatric help, and slowly worked his way out of depression. He never fully reconciled himself to quitting the ring, and was planning a comeback fight. But he also became well-known for his willingness to talk about mental illness.
Ricky had his longest relationship with Jennifer Dooley, from 2005 to 2016, and she was at his side for some of the highest points of his career (pictured receiving his MBE in 2007)
Ricky Hatton takes a punch from Floyd Mayweather Jr. during their WBC welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand in 2007
Just two days ago, Hatton had shared footage of him training. He had a fight coming up in December
Ricky went public with beauty therapist Angela Blemmings in July 2022, but they split the following year
Prior to his Dancing On Ice debut, Ricky dated playboy model Chelsea Claire, who was 14 years his junior, but their romance fizzled out in late 2023
As news of his death spread yesterday, flowers, gloves and Manchester City scarves and shirts were left outside Hatton’s home, named The Heartbreak.
Footballer Wayne Rooney called him ‘a legend, a warrior and a great person’. Promoter Frank Warren said ‘he was a British sporting icon, a man of the people’.
While fellow boxer Amir Khan said: ‘Sometimes the hardest fight happens in silence, in the mind.’
Hatton’s epitaph for himself was typically modest. Talking this year about his struggles, he said simply: ‘I hope I did Manchester proud.’
