Ricky Hatton RIP

Just watched the video of him on the Parkinson show on YouTube. I remember watching that programme with my mum who’d never heard of Ricky Hatton and had no liking of boxing, and her saying “who’s he, he’s lovely. That’s the appeal of Ricky Hatton, a 75 year old lady who didn’t like boxing but instantly fell in love with his personality. That’s some legacy Ricky.

Two classic lines in that video. Firstly, he said if there’s such a thing as reincarnation then Floyd Mayweather would want to come back as himself.

Second, nobody could believe my dad had produced a world champion, he’s only about 4 foot 6, the only bloke I know who has a life size photograph on his passport.

Just a genuinely funny bloke
 
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So sad and such a loss. He was a top fella, who even until as recently as last week was offering support to a young boxer who was being bullied at school.

He will be much missed.

I noticed Pep looked very emotional. I'm proud of the club for the remembrance ceremony for Ricky - total respect. Even the scum players applauded and that was really appreciated.

Bless you Ricky xx
 
Just genuinely sad about this.

Speaking to a mate today and we both have pictures with him from The Green Man in April 2013 (SF v Chelsea). He must have done hundreds of pictures if not thousands that day, and like others have said, he just got on with it, had a smile and a laugh and moved on to the next person who was thrilled to be in his company even for just a few seconds.

Hard to fathom what goes on in people’s heads that they feel that is their only option. Must be a truly horrible place to be, and whilst he will be greatly missed, we can only hope he has found some peace.

Heartbreaking.
 
Ricky was one of my sporting idols and it still hasn't sunk it what has happened, great tribute and fitting we won for him yesterday.

I will never forget the feeling chatting with him before the carabao cup game with Watford last season but even more appreciative of the fact he paused his chat with his mate to chat with my kids for a good 5 minutes or so.

What a gent, sleep tight blue
 
Edghill OG said:
Haven't been on BM for a bit. Truly dejected when I found out about this yesterday and still am today. I've had to hold back the tears on a few occasions.

Ricky was my hero growing up. A total gent and unquestionably one of Britain's finest boxers/sportsmen. Despite the outpouring of love I think he is still underappreciated in some circles. A unified world champion, a Ring champion, a two division world champion. A relentless come forward style that I don't think I've seen any other British fighter have. He could have probably dodged the likes of Mayweather and remained undefeated. Joe Cortez ruined that Mayweather fight by stopping him working on the inside. Two losses to possibly the two best fighters in that generation. I disregard his comeback fight loss to the Ukrainian after 2.5 years out, but even that bloke was a former world champion himself and Rick (despite his timing being all over the shop) was still ahead on points at the time of the stoppage.

During the miserable days of Utd cleaning up all before them we had Ricky and Oasis etc as validation of what we knew already. We were always the cooler club!

RIP Rick. Be at peace. You were/are loved by many.

XX
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Lovely post Edgy. It’s unbelievable how accessible and approachable he was. I chatted to him in the gym in Denton not long before the Mayweather fight, for some reason the wrestler John Cena was there that day too! Talking to me, a complete stranger, he actually expressed a bit of doubt that he would do it. That’s how humble he was. And how much weight on his shoulders, because there was so much hype around that fight and he knew he was coming up against the best boxer of his generation and didn’t want to let anybody down. I loved boxing and was privileged to meet a few fighters over the years at events, including Ali (which I still can’t believe) But it saddens me how little support those lads get beyond their inner circle having put their bodies and their minds on the line the way they do. Things have changed a bit since the 20th century but not much. Stories of how boxing has been a lifesaver for many are well told but they don’t call it the hurt game for nothing. I do hope as well as a conversation about mental health there is a conversation about more support for some of the bravest and noble hearted men on the planet when they hang up their gloves.
 
Still feel numb from this news.

At a time when we were shite Ricky really represented us as fans with his very down to earth attitude and great sense of humour.

He was a huge role model for the club, for the city and for working class people.

Well done to the club for paying tribute to him despite the news only emerging shortly before the game. He deserved a send off from both sides of the city because he was loved universally.

My thoughts remain with him family. Will take some time to sink in this.
 
supercity88 said:
Still feel numb from this news.

At a time when we were shite Ricky really represented us as fans with his very down to earth attitude and great sense of humour.

He was a huge role model for the club, for the city and for working class people.

Well done to the club for paying tribute to him despite the news only emerging shortly before the game. He deserved a send off from both sides of the city because he was loved universally.

My thoughts remain with him family. Will take some time to sink in this.
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It was bittersweet yesterday alright! I hope we make Hatton Wonderland a regular song at the Etihad.
 
Jazzyblue said:
Lovely post Edgy. It’s unbelievable how accessible and approachable he was. I chatted to him in the gym in Denton not long before the Mayweather fight, for some reason the wrestler John Cena was there that day too! Talking to me, a complete stranger, he actually expressed a bit of doubt that he would do it. That’s how humble he was. And how much weight on his shoulders, because there was so much hype around that fight and he knew he was coming up against the best boxer of his generation and didn’t want to let anybody down. I loved boxing and was privileged to meet a few fighters over the years at events, including Ali (which I still can’t believe) But it saddens me how little support those lads get beyond their inner circle having put their bodies and their minds on the line the way they do. Things have changed a bit since the 20th century but not much. Stories of how boxing has been a lifesaver for many are well told but they don’t call it the hurt game for nothing. I do hope as well as a conversation about mental health there is a conversation about more support for some of the bravest and noble hearted men on the planet when they hang up their gloves.
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I used to train in Betta Bodies gym in Denton and he would come out from doing his work out in the back and join us regular gym goers, he had his black bin liner suit on running on the treadmill alongside me just chatting away . He had time for everyone .
We used to see him on the train a lot at away games and he confronted Port Vale fans when they tried kicking off with a couple of City fans not realising he was there alongside a whole carriage of city when we was coming back from Palace.
I had the privilege of watching him at the MEN for the Kosta Tsyzu fight and Eamon McGee fight to name a couple .
He joined us on our table in the Wetherspoons in Watford before the Villa league cup final .
He always had time for anyone and he was a great ambassador for the City of Manchester and City as a football club .
RIP Ricky . Proper Legend !
 
bladdered said:
An absolute legend for sure. I'd love to see a statue of him at the Etihad. My favourite story of him was when he faced up some home fans having a go at Blues at Rotherham. They were rightly gob smacked and backed off. A genius of his sport and a genuine working class hero. RIP Ricky.
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I wonder if a statue outside the Manchester Arena would be more fitting? He fought 15 fights there, winning 14 of them. There were some cracking nights in there watching Ricky, the night he defeated Kostya Tszyu was electric!

Plus with him being loved by more than just City fans and him being a Manchester icon, a city centre statue would get more traction from locals and tourists.
 
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Jazzyblue said:
Lovely post Edgy. It’s unbelievable how accessible and approachable he was. I chatted to him in the gym in Denton not long before the Mayweather fight, for some reason the wrestler John Cena was there that day too! Talking to me, a complete stranger, he actually expressed a bit of doubt that he would do it. That’s how humble he was. And how much weight on his shoulders, because there was so much hype around that fight and he knew he was coming up against the best boxer of his generation and didn’t want to let anybody down. I loved boxing and was privileged to meet a few fighters over the years at events, including Ali (which I still can’t believe) But it saddens me how little support those lads get beyond their inner circle having put their bodies and their minds on the line the way they do. Things have changed a bit since the 20th century but not much. Stories of how boxing has been a lifesaver for many are well told but they don’t call it the hurt game for nothing. I do hope as well as a conversation about mental health there is a conversation about more support for some of the bravest and noble hearted men on the planet when they hang up their gloves.
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I'm as guilty as anybody with my own head wobbles. There's definitely work to be done with all aspects of mental health. Not everybody's cup of tea I know, but I found it rather refreshing when Tyson Fury talked about anxiety and going through periods of time feeling constantly on edge for no reason. Very much sounding to me like GAD. I think that is a huge one with males in particular. I'd sooner say I was depressed than I was feeling anxious. Being male and opening up about feeling inadequate at dealing with nerves/stress etc still has so much stigma. I think anxiety is a huge factor behind binge drinking and drugs as individuals rely on it to feel confident.

As you allude to there seems to be increasing number of boxers dealing with post-retirement depression and they seem very susceptible to addictions. The buzz of walking out to thousands of adoring fans must be an irreplaceable feeling. All this mixed with the CTE of being punched in the face thousands of times in bouts and sparring for a living make it a perfect cocktail for combat sports athletes to really struggle mentally.

There is a movie called 'Concussion' that is worthy of a watch based on a true story starring Will Smith about a doctor fighting the might of the NFL regarding brain trauma. Numerous individuals developing erratic behaviour and committing suicide. The NFL doing their level best to try and cover it up and hamper any research.

For somebody as vocal as Ricky at voicing his mental health struggles it's truly gut wrenching that it appears he still didn't know where to turn. I hope he was looking down on Sunday and saw that love he still had from the people of Manchester.
 
Spent many nights in his company in Gee Cross, and always a legend. My favourite memory was him beating Tszyu and pulling up at The Cheshire Cheese the next day in a clapped out ford transit lying across two mates laps in the passenger seats. Just become World Champion and he arrives like that! Top, top man and will be sorely missed. Rest in peace Rick
 
GXCity said:
Spent many nights in his company in Gee Cross, and always a legend. My favourite memory was him beating Tszyu and pulling up at The Cheshire Cheese the next day in a clapped out ford transit lying across two mates laps in the passenger seats. Just become World Champion and he arrives like that! Top, top man and will be sorely missed. Rest in peace Rick
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This is how GX people will remember Ricky.
That video of him running into the Village Chippy was just him!
 
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