Obituary: Ricky Hatton, boxer

Ricky Hatton rose from a council estate to become a boxing world champion, but his life was not an easy one. A gifted athlete whose father and grandfather both played professional football, Hatton also showed promise at the sport but when he started boxing as part of training Hatton had found what he was looking for. In a short but spectacular amateur career he won seven British titles and competed at a world youth champs.

After turning professional Hatton won world titles in the light-welterweight and welterweight divisions and at the height of his career shared the ring with the best boxers of his generation including Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather (who inflicted Hatton’s first loss in 2007) and Manny Pacquiao. Hatton quit fighting after he suffered the third loss in his career, against Vyacheslav Senchenko in 2012. He became a trainer, but made a surprise announcement earlier this year that he would return to the ring later this year.

Hatton was open about the mental health issues he endured upon his retirement from the ring, and it was these which finally overwhelmed him. Ricky Hatton died on September 14 aged 46. — Agencies/Allied Media