INQUEST INTO RICKY HUTTON'S DEATH REVEALS HE WAS FOUND BY MANAGER

The 46-year-old was discovered “unresponsive” by his manager, Paul Speak, on the morning of Sunday, September 14th, at his house in Hyde, Greater Manchester, Stockport Coroner’s Court was told. Photo: PA

Former boxing world champion Ricky Hatton was found hanged at his home, a coroner’s court heard.

The 46-year-old was discovered “unresponsive” by his manager, Paul Speak, on the morning of Sunday, September 14th, at his house in Hyde, Greater Manchester, Stockport Coroner’s Court was told.

The details were given during a brief 10-minute hearing as the inquest into the death of the popular former boxer was opened and adjourned until March 20th next year, by Alison Mutch, senior coroner for Manchester South.

The court heard some details of the discovery of Hatton’s body given by police coroner’s officer Alison Catlow.

The court was told Hatton was last seen by his family on September 12th when he appeared “well”.

But the day after he did not attend an event as expected and on the morning of the 14th his manager arrived at his home to take him to Manchester Airport to catch a flight to Dubai.

Hatton was found unresponsive.

Ms Mutch said: “The provisional cause of death is given as hanging.”

There were no family members present for the hearing, but Ms Mutch said Mr Speak was attending on behalf of the family.

He sat before the bench, with around 20 reporters sitting behind him listening to proceedings.

The coroner told Mr Speak: “If I could just ask you to pass on my condolences to his family at this time.”

Ms Mutch continued: “This is a straightforward legal step that the law does require you to take to move on to the inquest next year.”

The address of Hatton was given and his occupation as a boxing trainer and company director.

She said Hatton was identified to police by Mr Speak.

Ms Mutch continued: “In relation to Mr Hatton’s death, I think it’s right, it was Mr Speak who found him?”

Ms Catlow replied: “That’s correct.”

Ms Mutch then asked for a “brief indication of the circumstances” of the death.

Ms Catlow said: “Mr Hatton lived alone. He was last seen on the evening of the 12th of September by his family when he appeared well.

“On Saturday, September 13th, he did not attend an event as expected.

“On the morning of September 14th, his manager arrived at his home address to take him to Manchester Airport for a flight to Dubai.

“Mr Hatton was found unresponsive.”

Hatton’s death left his family heartbroken and his army of fans stunned.

A proud Mancunian and avid Manchester City supporter, tributes poured in from across the world of boxing and the wider sporting community.

Last week, celebrities including Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, former England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen, and boxers Tyson and Tommy Fury attended a memorial service at Manchester Cathedral.

Likeable, humble and a joker, Hatton, also known as “The Hitman”, was regarded as a “People’s Champion” and adored by thousands of fans.

His all-action fighting style and down-to-earth demeanour made him one of the most popular fighters on both sides of the Atlantic.

Hatton’s family insisted the former world champion was “in a good place”, a doting father and grandfather, who had plans for the future including his bags packed for a comeback fight in Dubai in December.

But Hatton had also been candid about his mental health struggles with drink and drugs and past suicide attempts after he retired from the ring for a second time following an ill-advised comeback in 2012.

- Pat Hurst, PA

RICKY HUTTON FUNERAL: SON CAMPBELL PAYS AN EMOTIONAL TRIBUTE TO IN MEMORIAL SERVICE

A funeral procession started at the Cheshire Cheese pub and was led by the famous Reliant Robin van from Only Fools and Horses.

The coffin of Ricky Hatton is carried into Manchester Cathedral, by his brother Matthew Hatton, front right, and son Campbell Hatton, front left (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Wire)

Ricky Hatton’s son Campbell paid an emotional tribute to the former two-weight world champion at his funeral in Manchester, saying: “I can’t explain how much I’m going to miss you, dad.”

Hatton, a popular, larger-than-life character who unified the light-welterweight division and also won a world welterweight title, was found dead aged 46 at his home in Hyde on September 14.

Campbell Hatton, who followed his father into boxing and won 14 of his 16 professional fights before retiring this year, said at the memorial service: “I can’t explain how much I’m going to miss you, dad, and that we won’t be making any new memories – but the ones we did I will cherish for ever.”

A funeral procession started at 9.45am at the Cheshire Cheese pub – Hatton’s local – and was led by the famous Reliant Robin van from Only Fools and Horses. Hatton was a huge fan of the show and once bought one of the original three-wheelers for £4,000.

The cortege included stops at Hatton’s boxing gym and the AO Arena, where he enjoyed some of his finest moments, the highlight indisputably being a win over the celebrated Kostya Tszyu on a raucous night 20 years ago to capture his first world title.

Thousands of mourners lined the streets in Manchester to pay tribute to Hatton, with a private memorial service at the city’s cathedral starting at midday.

In attendance was Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, a long-time friend of Hatton who accompanied him on his ring walk alongside brother Noel against Paulie Malignaggi in Las Vegas in 2008.

The great and good of British boxing also turned out, with Tyson Fury, Tony Bellew and Frank Bruno, as well as former England cricket captain Andrew Flintoff and former Manchester United and England star Wayne Rooney, arriving at the cathedral.

Also among the mourners was Hatton’s former trainer Billy Graham, from whom he was virtually inseparable on his journey from the amateur ranks to the top of the boxing world.

Hatton’s mother Carol said in a statement read on her behalf at the service: “‘The Hitman’ was adored by his army of fans – the People’s Champion, and he would say that’s how he would want to be remembered.

“Long before this accolade he was our little champion from the day he was born.”

Following the service, the commemorative march will head to the Etihad Stadium, the home of Hatton’s beloved Manchester City.

Hatton’s all-action style brought him 45 wins and three defeats from 48 contests, but it was his down-to-earth demeanour that especially endeared him to fellow professionals and fans around the world.

That was evidenced by tens of thousands following him to Las Vegas, where he fought the two pound-for-pound greatest fighters of his era in Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, with stories of UK fans singing ‘there’s only one Ricky Hatton’ and drinking Sin City dry going down in boxing folklore.

Hatton suffered his first professional defeat when he was stopped by Mayweather in 2007, while a vicious second-round knockout by Pacquiao two years later precipitated his fall from top-level boxing.

A misguided comeback attempt against Vyacheslav Senchenko in 2012 marked the first public admission Hatton was struggling to cope in retirement.

He was a tireless ambassador for mental health charities as well as Manchester-based Barnabus, which supports homeless and vulnerable people, and turned his hand to being a successful trainer in an attempt to fill the void.

Having participated in a no-scoring exhibition against Mexico’s Marco Antonio Barrera in 2022, Hatton announced in July he would return to the ring in a professional bout in Dubai in December.

He had resumed training and his family said he had been “in a good place” and “excited for the future” before his death, for which Greater Manchester Police said there were no suspicious circumstances.

- David Charlesworth

RICKY HUTTON CAUSE OF DEATH: EX-WBA IBO, IBF, WINNER HITMAN DIES AT AGE 46, LIFELONG MANCHESTER CITY FAN WAS TO MAKE COMEBACK IN DUBAI THIS YEAR

Boxer Ricky Hatton. (AP Photo/Jon Super, File)

Synopsis

Ricky Hatton had a perfect 43-0 record until he was floored by Floyd Mayweather Jr in Las Vegas in 2007 and was never the same again. Hatton's second loss came in 2009, when Manny Pacquiao knocked him out.

Ricky Hatton was found dead at his home in Greater Manchester. One of the most popular fighters in the sport was 46. Nicknamed 'the Hitman', Hatton won the WBA, IBO and IBF light-welterweight titles and the WBA welterweight world championship during his 15-year professional career before retiring in 2012. He had been due to make a comeback for an event in Dubai this year. Outside of the ring, Hatton was a lifelong fan of Manchester City. The club said there would be a minute of appreciation for Hatton at Sunday's derby against Manchester United.

Hatton had 45 wins in 48 bouts over his career but in the years after he retired he said he had tried to kill himself several times and had been open about his struggle with depression, drink and drugs. Hatton's best performance came in 2005 when he stopped Australian Kostya Tszyu to add the IBF light-welterweight title to the WBU belt he already held.

He had a perfect 43-0 record until he was floored by Floyd Mayweather Jr in Las Vegas in 2007 and was never the same again. Hatton's second loss came in 2009, when Manny Pacquiao knocked him out.

- The Economic Times, Global Desk

RICKY HUTTON, MICHAEL MOORER INDUCTED INTO BOXING HALL PF FAME

Michael Moorer, right, in his IBF heavyweight world championship boxing match against Germany's Axel Schulz. AP Photo/Christof Stache, File

 Ricky Hatton laughed his way through his Hall of Fame induction speech, marveling at the places boxing took him and the thousands of his fans that would always follow.

"I had some wars, didn't I?" Hatton said Sunday. "When I think back at the Kostya Tszyu fight, Floyd Mayweather fight, Manny Pacquiao fight and my toughest fight, my divorce."

Michael Moorer took a more serious tone with a plea for safer conditions for boxers during and after their careers.

Hatton and Moorer, both champions in two weight classes, were the headline names when the International Boxing Hall of Fame class of 2024 was inducted during a ceremony at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.

Moorer won the light heavyweight title in just his 12th pro fight and later moved up to become the first southpaw heavyweight champion. Noting the size of present-day heavyweights who sometimes weigh more than 250 pounds, with former champion Tyson Fury fighting above 270, Moorer called for the advent of a super heavyweight division.

Moorer, who went 52-4-1 with 40 knockouts, said he has undergone 28 surgeries and been left without the ability to smell or taste. He said it was imperative for boxing's sanctioning bodies, managers and promoters to prioritize the welfare of fighters.

"The toll on a fighter's body persists long after they hang up their gloves," Moorer said. "I am just one of the many retired fighters who have been left to deal with a long list of injuries without any meaningful insurance assistance."

Ivan Calderon and Diego Corrales, who died in 2007 two years after rallying in a memorable 10th round to beat Jose Luis Castillo in boxing's "Fight of the Year," were the other headline fighters in the class that will be enshrined in the hall's museum in Canastota, New York.

Calderon, a two-division champion from Puerto Rico who still works with fighters from there, noted the presence of the heads of three boxing organizations, who were also Latin American.

"So they're here like a family and I'd like them to keep on working like a family for all these boxers," Calderon said. "That's what we need. We need a family. All together we can do a lot of things."

Women's champions Jane Couch of Britain -- who fought to allow women to box at home -- and Ana Maria Torres of Mexico were elected from the women's modern category. Luis Angel Firpo in the old-timer category and Theresa Kibby in the women's trailblazer category were the other fighters in the class.

Trainer Kenny Adams, Jackie Kallen -- the first female manager inducted -- longtime publicist Fred Sternburg, broadcaster Nick Charles and journalist Wallace Matthews rounded out the 13-member class. Matthews noted his preference for boxing over other sports he covered because of what fighters endure.

"There is a code among boxers -- 'We will fight until we can't fight anymore' -- and there's no other sport where that happens," Matthews said. "There ain't no timeout, there ain't no tapping out, there's no relief pitcher, you're not skating off the ice for a shift change. That's it. Once you're in there, you're on the ship, you're taking the ride until the very end."

It was quite a ride for Hatton, the Manchester, England, product who upset Tszyu in 2005 to rise to the top of the junior welterweight division and would lose high-profile welterweight fights in Las Vegas against Mayweather and Pacquiao. He recalled the thousands of his fans who flew from Europe for those weeks -- saying there were so many that the MGM Grand once ran out of beer -- just the way they supported him at home.

Now they can see Hatton (45-3, 32 KOs) hang in the Hall of Fame, where he said he became emotional when he saw that his plaque will hang two away from Roberto Duran, the fighter who was his hero.

"I always said my fan base was my greatest-ever achievement," Hatton said, "so it's been great to spend the weekend with the fans."

- Associated Press