Ricky Hatton's heartbreaking admission before comeback fight as he dies at 46
Boxing icon Ricky Hatton has died aged 46, just months before his return to boxing, where he was set to fight Eisa Al Dah 13 years after his last professional bout
Ricky Hatton admitted he was excited to return to boxing in his proposed comeback fight in a now heartbreaking interview, as the British sporting icon has died. The former boxer, 46, was found at his home in Hyde, Greater Manchester, where a police cordon is currently in place.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed earlier that a body had been found at Hatton's address and that the death was not being treated as suspicious. A GMP spokesperson had said: "We can confirm that we have found a body at an address on Bowlacre Road in Gee Cross at 6.45am today, Sunday, September 14. The death is not being treated as suspicious."
Hatton was scheduled to return to the ring in December, where he was set to fight Dubai's first professional boxer, Eisa Al Dah. The fight would have been his first professional bout in 13 years, as he had hung up his gloves after being defeated by Vyachslav Senchenko in Manchester in 2012.
The clash against the Ukrainian came three-and-a-half years after his first retirement from the sport following his knockout defeat at the hands of Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas.
Hatton, who would have turned 47 in October, did make a return to boxing in 2022 where he faced fellow icon Marco Antonio Barrera in an eight-round exhibition match.
The former welterweight and light-welterweight world champion spoke about the proposed bout in July earlier this summer and revealed his excitement to return to the professional ranks.
Confirming the bout via a livestream, Hatton confirmed that an eye injury left him unable to attend the event in person as he said: "I wish I was there but I had a little bad injury on my eye. The main thing is the fight will take place and I can't wait, I'm really looking forward to it.
"It's just one of them freakish things, I caught one of my sunglasses in my eyes and I'm very fortunate it's not done any permanent damage. It's just scraped the surface, so fingers crossed we're good to go."
Hatton had been open about his troubles with depression and addiction as he proudly spoke about the positive influence he's had on others in similar situations. In an exclusive interview with SunSport, he previously said: "It inspired a lot of people, you know, for me to get in shape again at the age I'm at.
"Especially bearing in mind all my problems I've had personally with mental health and stuff like that. It was nice for so many people to come up to me and go, 'Oh, I've always struggled with my weight and to see you get it off at your age.'
"I've always struggled with my mental health and I've had my problems. And to see where you were a few years ago to what you're doing now, it's inspirational."
Hatton had a formidable 45-3 record in his 15-year boxing career. It was in 2005 when he reached the pinnacle of the sport by beating Kostya Tszyu to win the IBF and The Ring light-welterweight titles.
He defended those belts in a further four victories before facing the biggest test of his career against Floyd Mayweather. He fell to TKO defeat to the American in his bid to become the WBC and The Ring welterweight champion.