The British boxing legend was found dead at his home in Hyde, Greater Manchester, on September 14, with an inquest opening into his death taking place this week
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| An inquest into Hatton's death will open on Thursday(Image: 2024 Getty Images) |
An inquest opening into the death of Ricky Hatton will be held on Thursday morning, just over a month after the British boxing icon's sudden passing at the age of 46.
The former world champion was found dead at his home in Hyde, Greater Manchester, on Sunday, September 14, sending shockwaves across the world of sport. His funeral took place on Friday, with thousands of people lining the streets of Manchester and a host of famous faces attending the service at the city's cathedral.
One month on from the tragedy, little is known about what happened to Hatton, with his cause of death not being publicly disclosed by his family. However, some of the circumstances surrounding his death will be made public on Thursday, after police, who do not believe his death to be suspicious, referred the case to the coroner.
An inquest opening has been formally listed to take place at South Manchester Coroners' Court in Stockport at 9am on Thursday, (October 16), and will be held before the area's senior coroner Alison Mutch.
Inquests are opened by coroners when there is reasonable cause to suspect that a death has occurred due to anything other than natural causes. While there is no exact legal definition of a 'natural' cause of death, a typical description is "death due to a disease running its full course with no other intervening factors".
An inquest opening is a short, administrative hearing that will see the coroner officially open the inquest to investigate the death publicly. The coroner will confirm the identity of the person who has died, as well as the medical cause of death if it is known, while the brief circumstances of the death may also be heard.
The coroner will then decide if a full inquest needs to take place and adjourn the hearing to a later date for a review or for the final hearing. A timetable will then be set for the next steps in the investigation, including gathering witness statements and reports, as well as a date for any required future hearings.
Hatton was open about his struggles with his mental health, with his 13-year-old daughter Millie's heartbreaking eulogy at his funeral seeing her ask him: "Why didn't you reach out?".
Addressing the packed Manchester Cathedral at the service, she said: "I can’t help but think about how you will never walk me down the aisle, how you will never meet my children and your grandchildren, how you won’t be here to see me leave school or even see me grow into an adult.
"Why did you feel that way? Why didn’t you reach out about how you felt? I genuinely hope you don’t ever think you have let me down, because I would never think that. I love and miss you unconditionally.”
Addressing the packed Manchester Cathedral at the service, she said: "I can’t help but think about how you will never walk me down the aisle, how you will never meet my children and your grandchildren, how you won’t be here to see me leave school or even see me grow into an adult.
"Why did you feel that way? Why didn’t you reach out about how you felt? I genuinely hope you don’t ever think you have let me down, because I would never think that. I love and miss you unconditionally.”
Hatton's friend and long-time manager, Paul Speak, was the person who discovered the 46-year-old's body at his Manchester home, having come round to take him to the airport. While he initially thought the former boxer had overslept, it was only when he went upstairs that he discovered the tragic truth.
"The lights weren't on, which I thought was strange," he told Boxing News: "I thought he'd overslept, but it's not unusual. People do oversleep. So, I went inside – I have a key – shouting, 'Rick, Rick, wake up! I heard music coming from upstairs, so I went upstairs... I took a look at him... I had to take some time to process it.
"I was in a state of shock and confusion and loss and many more emotions," he added. "Then I called the police and the ambulance. But I firmly believe he didn't intend to do it. It's for the coroner to determine, but he had it all to live for.
"He'd arranged to take his daughters to see Oasis next week. He was planning to go to Thailand for the WBC convention and a holiday after his fight. He'd just booked a flight to Tenerife for Christmas. I want to get the truth out, otherwise people will just speculate."
- John Jones
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