Ricky Hatton’s son Campbell paid an emotional tribute to his late father at his funeral in Manchester, saying “I can’t explain how much I’m going to miss you, dad.”
Thousands of mourners lined the streets during the procession, which started at Hatton’s local pub – the Cheshire Cheese in Hyde – at 9.45am on Friday ahead of a private memorial service from midday.
Former world champion Hatton was found dead at his home on September 14. Greater Manchester Police said there were no suspicious circumstances.
Campbell Hatton, who won 14 of his 16 fights before retiring from boxing last year, said of Ricky at the service: “We won’t be making any new memories – but the ones we did I will cherish for ever.”
The cortege included stops at Hatton’s boxing gym as well as the AO Arena, the venue where he secured his first world title with victory over Kosta Tszyu in June 2005.
It was led by the famous Reliant van from Only Fools And Horses. Hatton was a big fan of the sitcom and once bought one of the original three-wheelers, which he used to drive round his home city.
Those in attendance included Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, Hatton’s fellow boxers Tyson Fury, Frank Bruno and Tony Bellew, ex-England, Manchester United and Everton footballer Wayne Rooney and former England cricket captain Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff.
Speaking on his social media channels earlier in the day, Fury said of Hatton: “Today is the day of Ricky Hatton’s funeral.
“I’m not going to be alone when I say this, but Ricky inspired me as a young boy to go on and do great things in boxing. I wanted to be just like him. The ring walks, the flashy shorts, the fans, the chanting.
“When I was a little kid he was fighting for his world title against Kostya Tszyu in Manchester, I was there along with a lot of young kids who were inspired by Ricky.
“Without Ricky Hatton, Manchester, the North West, the UK wouldn’t have had so many boxing world champions inspired by the great ‘Hitman’. Rest in peace, Rick. See you soon buddy.”
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.”
Hatton won 45 of his 48 fights and earned legions of fans, not only due to his boxing ability but also his down-to-earth demeanour, with tens of thousands of supporters travelling to see him take on Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas.
Mayweather and Pacquiao inflicted two of Hatton’s three defeats, with the third of those coming in his final bout, against Vyacheslav Senchenko in Manchester in May 2012.
Hatton – an ambassador for mental health charities and the Manchester-based Barnbaus, which supports homeless and vulnerable people – became a trainer after retiring before participating in an exhibition against Marco Antonio Barrera in 2022.
He was scheduled to return to the ring in a professional bout in December of this year.
Sky Sports pundit and former British and European middleweight champion Matthew Macklin said: “Everyone talks about Ricky being a man of the people, which he was, but it is easy to forget that he was an unbelievable boxer.
“He had unbelievable talent, an unbelievable work ethic.
“As a young fighter coming through looking up to him, he was a fantastic role model in how he trained, how he conducted himself with the media and other people.
“He was such a great, funny guy. His after-dinner speaking, he was on the level of stand-up comedy.
“He was funny off the cuff with quick one-liners, always coming back at you.” (SkySports)
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