Ricky Hatton expressed his enthusiasm for his planned boxing comeback in a recent interview, but sadly, the British sports legend has passed away. The 46-year-old former boxer was discovered at his residence in Hyde, Greater Manchester, where authorities have established a police cordon.
Authorities from Greater Manchester Police have confirmed the discovery of a body at Hatton’s address, stating that the incident is not considered suspicious. A spokesperson from GMP stated, “We have located a body at an address on Bowlacre Road in Gee Cross at 6.45 am today, Sunday, September 14. The death is not deemed suspicious.”
Hatton was gearing up for a return to the boxing ring in December for a match against Eisa Al Dah, Dubai’s inaugural professional boxer. This fight would have marked his first professional bout in 13 years since his defeat by Vyachslav Senchenko in Manchester back in 2012.
His encounter with the Ukrainian fighter occurred three-and-a-half years after his initial retirement following a knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas. Hatton, who would have celebrated his 47th birthday in October, made a brief return to boxing in 2022 for an eight-round exhibition match against fellow icon Marco Antonio Barrera.
The former welterweight and light-welterweight world champion had discussed his anticipated bout earlier in the summer, expressing his eagerness to re-enter the professional boxing scene. Hatton, through a livestream announcement, disclosed that an eye injury prevented his physical presence at the event, but he remained excited for the upcoming fight.
Despite his struggles with depression and addiction, Hatton spoke proudly of the positive impact he had on others facing similar challenges. In a prior interview, he shared, “It inspired a lot of people, you know, for me to get in shape again at the age I’m at.” He continued, “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.'”
Throughout his 15-year boxing career, Hatton achieved a commendable 45-3 record. His crowning moment in the sport was in 2005 when he defeated Kostya Tszyu to claim the IBF and The Ring light-welterweight titles. Following successful title defenses, Hatton faced Floyd Mayweather in a high-profile match but suffered a TKO defeat in his quest to become the WBC and The Ring welterweight champion.