How Ricky Hatton turned his life around after cocaine shame to find fame on reality TV and romance with Claire Sweeney
WHEN Ricky Hatton hung up his boxing gloves after winning two world titles and fighting the best of the best he was left with a huge hole in his life.
The champion fighter, nicknamed The Hitman, no longer had strict training camps to follow nor the rapturous reception from thousands of fans as he made his way to the ring.
It was the two high-profile losses to Floyd Mayweather Jr, who took Hatton's unbeaten record in 2007, and fellow legend Manny Pacquiao in 2009 that put Ricky into a downward spiral.
The Mancunian said he was embarrassed by the losses and that defeat drove him mad.
His former girlfriend Angela Blemmings recently told us that Hatton would drink up to 25 pints of Guinness a day and embarked on a 36-hour bender at his lowest ebb.
The star was also famously caught on camera taking cocaine during one wild night out.
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Eventually he sought help and admitted himself to a rehab facility, The Priory, in 2010.
While the therapy helped with the substance abuse, the mental health struggles followed Hatton into retirement.
He previously told us: “I’ve been a two-weight world champion but nothing can prepare you when you are hit by depression. Words can’t describe how bad you feel or hopeless you feel."
His first retirement in 2011 - two years after his defeat to Pacquiao - was short-lived. Ricky returned to the ring in 2012 for a comeback fight against Ukrainian Vyacheslav Senchenko but lost by knockout.
In an interview with the Mail in 2020, Ricky said giving up the sport was the "worst part of my life".
He said: "I was suicidal.
"It's like a drug that feeling of the crowd roar and singing your name."
He continued: "From 16 when I left school I was training with Billy Graham practically as a pro but fitting a few carpets to pay for my upkeep.
"I've been boxing every day of my working life and then to suddenly be sat on your sofa in the living room with nothing to do was very hard."
BOUNCING BACK
While father time may have caught up with him in the ring, Ricky put his knowledge to good use helping other up-and-coming fighters.
He has worked with Tommy Fury and was in heavyweight champ Tyson Fury's corner against Deontay Wilder in 2018.
The Hitman also trained Zhanat Zhakiyanov on his way to winning the WBA Bantamweight title in 2017.
Ricky got to experience one last buzz of an arena roar in 2022 in an exhibition against fellow legend of the sport Marco Antonio Barrera.
His son Campbell is now keeping the family name alive in the ring, recently suffering his first defeat in a Central Area title clash with James Flint.
ICE BLAST
Perhaps later than some might have expected, Ricky dipped his toe into reality TV when he signed for Dancing on Ice last year.
His time on the ice was short-lived though as he became the first celeb to be eliminated, despite giving it a good go with a boxing-themed routine.
However, it seems he still emerged with a prize as it was on that programme that he met Claire Sweeney.
The actress was eliminated in week three but stayed in touch with Ricky and we exclusively revealed yesterday that the pair have been dating for several weeks.
They were pictured looking close on a Manchester bar crawl at the weekend with their arms around one another.
Following his time on the ice, Ricky has expressed an interest in taking part in other reality shows including I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
Speaking to Spinbet, he said: "If anything comes in I will look at it and I have no plans. I’m in a good place in my life now, I’m training my professional boxers."
Opening up on what he would find most difficult about the jungle, he said: "It’s hard to say but limited food may be a struggle for Ricky Fatton. You keep an open mind, and I did that with the skating.
"You watch the jungle and see all of the creepy crawlies climbing all over you and spiders biting you. Everyone who has been on it has said what an experience just like I did after the skating."
Then there would be the small matter of confronting his biggest fears.
"Rats would be the one," he said. "I’m scared of cats though as well, I got scratched on my face at two years old, so now I’m scared to death.
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"I know a rat is a rat and a cat is a cat, but they don’t look a million miles away.
"If I had one of those things crawling on me, I think I would s*** a brick. But they talk about conquering your fears and a lot of people say it’s about conquering your fears in the jungle so I would look into it."
