Ricky Hatton, former world boxing champion, found dead at home at age 46

Ricky Hatton, the former world boxing champion who became one of the most popular fighters in sport, has died. He was 46 years old.

Hatton was found dead at home at Greater Manchester, News themezone BBC News and the Press Association of Great Britain reported Sunday.

The World Boxing Association cried Hatton’s death on social networks on Sunday.

“With a deep sadness, the AMB cries the death of Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton,” the AMB wrote. “A true champion, an indomitable spirit and a legend of sport. Your legacy will live in every fight and in the hearts of boxing fans around the world.”

Police said they were not treating death as suspicious.

“A public member called the officers to attend Bowlacre Road, Hyde, Tameside, at 6:45 am today, where they found the body of a 46 -year -old man,” said Greater Manchester police in a statement to BBC News. “It is currently not believed that there are suspicious circumstances.”

The police did not reveal the identity of the man, but said they were working with his family to provide a statement to the media.

Hatton’s friends hurried to pay tribute on Sunday morning.

“Today we lost not only one of the best boxers in Great Britain, but a friend, a mentor, a warrior, Ricky Hatton,” former world champion Amir Khan published in X.

“RIP to the legend Ricky Hatton May the RIP,” said former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in an Instagram post, with photos of the couple together. “There will only be 1 Ricky Hatton. I can’t believe this so young.”

The news of Hatton’s death occurs two months after he announced that he would return to boxing in December in a professional fight against EISA AL DAH in Dubai.

Hatton won world titles by light weight and Welter weight.

He rose through amateur and national levels and in the height of his career he shared the ring with the best boxers of his generation, including Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

Hatton’s realistic behavior also attracted fans around the world, and was open about the mental health problems he suffered when retiring from the ring.

“As fighters, we tell ourselves that we are strong: we train, we sweat, we take blows, we get up. But sometimes the toughest struggle occurs in silence, in the mind,” Khan added about X. “Mental health is not a weakness. It is part of human being. And we must talk about it. We must reach us. We must support each other.”

The style of all Hatton’s action joined his popularity. He accumulated a passionate follow -up in the United Kingdom before really announcing himself on the world stage with his epic victory against Tszyu for the super lightweight title of the IBF World in 2005.

Pound for Pound, Great Tszyu had only lost twice before, but was forced to retire in his stool against 22,000 fans in Manchester.

Later, Hatton described him as his greatest victory, but it was only the beginning of a period in which he fought at the top of the sport, with thousands of fans following the United States for great fights.

In a publication about X, his former manager, Frank Warren, described him as a “magnificently talented fighter who inspired a generation of young boxers and fans in a way that very few had done before,” adding that “it will become correctly as one of the great modern ones of this sport.”

Hatton lost for the first time in his career against Mayweather at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 2007.

After a return home with tickets exhausted at the Manchester City stadium a year later, he returned to the top of the sport to face Manny Pacquiao in 2009, losing inside two rounds.

Hatton retired after that defeat, but made a notable return four years later after accumulating weight and lasting problems with depression and alcohol consumption, as well as drug use accusations.

While he lost to Vyacheslav Senchenko, the very fact that he managed to return to the ring was seen as a personal triumph.

Speaking to the BBC in 2022, Ricky Hatton discussed his struggles with his mental health over the years. After his knockout in 2009, he knew that his career had ended, despite a short -term return in 2012.

“I had no boxing. My career was over. I had fallen with my parents. I had fallen with my coach Billy Graham. It was then that it came to the bottom,” he said. “I just went out to Warpath. It was horrible that people see it.”

He became an ambassador to the Mental Health Charity campaign against life in 2023, according to the BBC.

“If a boxer can leave and say they are fighting and crying every day, it will make a big difference,” he explained to the BBC in 2020.

“Having gone through that, now I see how my work help those who suffer from mental health.”

Outside the ring, Hatton was a fan of Manchester City’s life.

The club said there would be a minute of thanks for Hatton in Sunday’s derby against Manchester United.

“Ricky was one of the most beloved and venerated followers of the city, which will always be remembered for a brilliant boxing race that saw him win world titles in Welter weight and lightweight,” said City in a statement. “Everyone in the club would like to send our most sincere condolences to their family and friends at this difficult time.”

The announcement of Hatton’s return to the ring at the end of this year occurred after having succeeded as a coach, training Zhanat Zhakiyanov to a world victory in the Gallo weight title in 2017.

If you or someone you know is in emotional anguish or in a suicidal crisis, you can reach the life line of suicide and the crisis 988 calling or sending text messages to 988. You can also chat with 988 suicide and crisis Lifeline here.

For more information about resources and mental health support, you can reach the help line of the National Alliance of Mental Diseases (NAMI) from Monday to Friday from 10 am to 10 pm et, 1-800-950-NAMI (6264).

• Boxing
• Obituary
• United Kingdom