Five years ago, an undefeated Ricky Hatton was preparing for the biggest fight of his career – a clash with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas. Five years on, a battered, ageing and bruised Ricky Hatton is hanging up his gloves for a second time. Yet for boxing fans, it’s a miracle he returned from retirement in the first place.
Rewind to 2007 and ‘The Hitman’ was on top of the world. In just a few weeks, he would take on the man who was ranked as the best pound for pound fighter in the world. Like Hatton, Mayweather was also undefeated, and so boxing fans on both sides of the Atlantic geared up for what promised to be one of the greatest fights of all time.
The fight had to end in heartbreak for one of these boxers though, and sadly for Hatton his perfect record came to a sudden end by way of a tenth round knockout. The Mancunian boxer wasn’t ready to give up, but after losing to Manny Pacquio in 2009, Hatton’s life hit a new low.
Unable to cope with defeats, ‘The Hitman’ turned to alcohol and drugs. In 2010 he was admitted into rehabilitation to cope with his problems, but he still faced a number of personal problems and even contemplated suicide.
For Ricky Hatton, the only way to solve his own crisis was to get back into the ring.
Many were surprised when Hatton announced his comeback on  September 14 this year. After all, he was beginning to earn a good reputation as a fight promoter, with successful boxers such as Martin Murray and Anthony Crolla under his wing, and the comeback even led to a high profile disagreement with his father.
Yet for Hatton, a comeback was the only way he could achieve redemption for his fans. In his announcement, he told the press why he needed to return to the sport he loved: “I want people to be proud of me again. I want British sport, my kids and my fans to be proud of me. I had my problems but I’m over that now and I want people to look at me in a different light.”
So it was set, on November 24 ‘The Pride of Hyde’ was to take on Ukrainian Vyacheslav Senchenko at the Manchester Arena. The odds were firmly stacked against him. Senchenko, a recent welterweight champion, represented a tough challenge for a boxer who had been out of the ring for three years. He could have chosen to take on an easier opponent, but that’s not the way Hatton wanted it to be.
Hatton started the fight brightly, and there were clear signs of his hunger and desire to succeed in this match as much as any previous encounter he had faced. Yet age caught up on him towards the end of the fight, and in the ninth round a left-hook to the liver ended the contest, and in turn, ended Hatton’s boxing career for a second time.
Hatton, wiping away his tears, told the awaiting press his plans to retire for good after the fight: “I’ll be crying tonight. But I’m happy. Honestly, I’m happy. I needed to go in there and find out, and I found out. It’s not there no more.”
Of course, the doubters and cynics would suggest that the exercise was a waste of time and a way of making Ricky Hatton rich for one last time. But this fight meant something for Hatton. After years of personal battles, he could finally be happy that his career ended at the right time, and that he had found forgiveness from his fans who stuck by him through thick and thin – fans that are simply grateful Hatton was able to enter a ring again.
Despite the loss, there will always be a place for Ricky Hatton amongst British boxing’s all time greats, and it seems he is finally content to accept this.