RICKY HATTON could do anything he wanted – but struggled to beat the demons that appeared way before he put on his first pair of gloves.
The Hitman managed to be a City-mad Oasis fan who was still idolised by Manchester’s red half.
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And the 46-year-old grandfather could hand out awards at a black-tie dinner among dignitaries on Friday lunchtime and be in his local pub sinking Guinness and playing darts with his old school pals by dinner.
All of his success and joy came despite the cheeky chappy admitting to a lifetime of insecurities.
In 2023, with the unmistakable honesty and wit that endeared him to fans, Ricky said about his earliest issues: “I was always worried about public perception. That’s the best way I can sum it up.
“Doormen in Manchester would see me at the back of the queue and shout, ‘What you doing back there, you d**k? Come down the front’.
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“But I would insist they wave me down to the front because I didn’t want anyone to think I was being a p***k. “Pathetic little things like that were in my head from so early on.
“It was always a problem. I never wanted anyone to think bad of me. “From day one, if anyone thought I was arrogant, I would be devastated. It would ruin me.”
Vicious hooks Imagine that, a world champion as popular as Hatton haunted by the dread that a total stranger or local bouncer would think him flash.
I’m not sure somebody could epitomise the idea of a working-class hero better than that man.
Late on in that same interview, he told The Sun: “In a few years time, when we have all passed on, I hope I will be well remembered.
“I tried to give fans great fights and great nights. “I hope they looked at me and thought, ‘He’s a rum fer’.”
His humility belied the fact that, at the peak of his pulling and punching power, Ricky Hatton could do and have anything he wanted.
And thanks to appearing on Dancing On Ice last year, his tumultuous love life, a relationship with actress Claire Sweeney, his infectious personality and smashing all manner of boxing records, he was known far outside the ring, as the hundreds of tributes flooding in from fans all over the world have shown.
Tyson Fury said: “There will only ever be one Ricky Hatton” while former foe Manny Pacquiao posted: “He was not only a great fighter inside the ring, but also a brave and kind man in life.”
He was a passionate Man City supporter — known to enter the room to Blue Moon, the club’s anthem — and yesterday there was fans’ applause for him at the derby with Man Utd.
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And he also appeared in a brutally honest Sky documentary about his career titled Hatton, which was nominated for a Bafta in 2024.
In 2008, he hosted his own live chat show called Ricky Speaks on Nuts TV, and the following year he hosted WWE Raw at the Sheffield Arena, beating professional wrestler Chavo Guerrero in a match.
A massive Oasis fan, he famously had Noel and Liam Gallagher walk him into the ring for his 2008 fight against Paulie Malignaggi.
He later attended the Oasis brothers’ reunion concerts — although an eye injury he sustained at the Cardiff gig meant he had to cancel plans to attend a press conference in Dubai to announce his comeback fight.
He was scheduled to face UAE scrapper Eisa Al Dah at middleweight on December 2 in the emirate.
Hatton’s rollercoaster life saw more ups and downs than your average famous boxer — but ultimately, he just wanted to be one of the lads
Hatton’s rollercoaster life saw more ups and downs than your average famous boxer — but ultimately, he just wanted to be one of the lads.
The bona fide British boxing legend would race away from world title wins, not for Dubai jaunts or Mayfair cocktail marathons, but for st shirt days in Hattersley, Greater Manchester.
Growing up, Hatton’s parents Ray and Carol ran four pubs where Rick and his brother Matthew would be pot boys for pocket money.
Aged 12, in the basement of the New Inn, Hatton had a heavy bag hung on a beam along the cellar ceiling.
‘I don’t want pat on back’
The spindly teen would pepper it so loudly that the locals and regulars would pop down between pints and cheer him on.
The Hitman was never short of a fanbase. And, when he found maverick trainer Billy Graham in his Moss Side gym, he had the sort of mentor his raw enthusiasm deserved.
By the time he was 16, Hatton would sleep on the steps outside the old-school sweatbox to make sure he got the most out of every session with Billy — his chain-smoking trainer known as The Preacher.
Under Graham’s madcap mastermind, Hatton became a spectacular body puncher who would almost bark and yap with the vicious, scything hooks he whipped into his opponents.
His 1997 debut in Widnes did not last a round, and inside 12 months he had gone to Germany for his first successful foreign assignment.
Promoter Frank Warren kept the reins on, knowing they had to launch for a world title at the perfect time — and that finally came in 2005.
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Almost nobody outside of the Hatton camp gave him a chance against the Russian-born Australian Kostya Tszyu.
After 11 rounds — in an atmosphere most of the few veterans lucky enough to have been present still say has never been topped — Hatton outworked and overpowered the Soviet machine, who quit on his stool.
It was the most magnificent night in Hatton’s history and he never tired of reliving it.
The 26-year-old Hitman was on top of the world and nothing in the 20 years that followed would ever top that crowning glory.
But Ricky “Fatton” — who would balloon in weight between wins and never flashed his six-pack or cash — was an unlikely icon on both sides of the Pond.
And by 2007 he had an MBE and was a stand-alone star when the Floyd Mayweather fight came around.
It made brilliant theatre when the easy-to-hate American put on a Manchester United shirt and played the villain perfectly.
But sadly he was brilliantly evil in the ring too, with Hatton stopped after ten hard rounds of his WBC welterweight world title shot.
It seemed like Hatton never really recovered from the loss until Filipino fighter Manny Pacquiao was offered up in 2009.
In this toxic time, Hatton split with Graham, who was like a best friend and brother.
And dad Ray — as so often happens when father and manager roles merge in the big-money blood sport — started making decisions more concerned with his wealth than his son’s health.
Pacquiao only needed two rounds to demolish the brave Brit, and most of his empire and home life was to crumble in the aftermath.
Hatton, who never played up to boxing’s tough-guy image, could not cope with his perceived embarrassment of the loss, despite everyone being so proud of him.
Boxing has changed my life so much. But have I changed? Have I f***
Ricky Hatton
And in 2010 he had time in the Priory for depression and alcohol addiction issues.
But after a worrying spell in the wilderness, Hatton made his ring return in 2012.
Over nine rounds he tried and tried to roll back the years but Ukrainian Vyacheslav Senchenko was too much for the veteran. His retirement speech is one of the most powerful ever spoken.
“I am heartbroken,” he said.
“I am not a quitter. I am so sorry for my fans. I kept trying but it didn’t come off.
“I am not a failure. But that’s two defeats in a row now.
“You don’t know how much that hurts me.”
In 2017, he enjoyed a father-son double act with his boy Campbell, who had a few high-profile fights and some beautiful moments with his dad, but rightly retired after 14 wins and consecutive losses.
When his son called it quits last year, proud dad Hatton beamed when he spoke about him working as a solar panel installer.
And when considering his own legacy, Ricky said: “I hope they see me throw everything at Floyd and Manny — rightly or wrongly.
“I was game as f*** and could never have been more honest.
“Boxing has changed my life so much. But have I changed? Have I f***.
“I don’t want a pat on the back for being normal, having a photo with someone, not being a d***head.
“That’s the way you should be.”
Ricky leaves behind Campbell, 24, and daughters Millie, 13, and Fearne, 12. And he was even a grandad to baby Lyla.
He also leaves behind hundreds of thousands of fans, boys who wanted to be him and men who wanted to be more like him.
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