Former boxing world champion Ricky Hatton dies aged 46

The English fighter was due to return to the ring for a bout in Dubai in December

Former world boxing champion Ricky Hatton has died at the age of 46. PA

Ricky Hatton during his win over Juan Lazcano in their IBO light-welterweight title fight at the City of Manchester Stadium on May 24, 2008. Getty Images

Ricky Hatton walks away after knocking down Luis Collazo during their welterweight title fight at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 13, 2006. Getty Images

Ricky Hatton celebrates defeating Mexico's Jose Luis Castillo after a fourth-round stoppage at the Thomas and Mack Centre in Las Vegas, on June 23, 2007. PA

Ricky Hatton takes part in a training session at a gym near Manchester before his fight against US boxer Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas on November 13, 2007. AFP

Floyd Mayweather and Ricky Hatton trade blows during their WBC welterweight boxing title fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on December 8, 2007. AP

Ricky Hatton lands a punch to the face of Juan Urango in the fourth round of their light-welterweight world title fight in Las Vegas on January 20, 2007. AP

Ricky Hatton pauses during training in Manchester on May 5, 2006, ahead of his WBA welterweight fight with American Luis Collazo. AFP

Ricky Hatton during his fight against Vyacheslav Senchenko - the British fighter's last as a professional - on November 24, 2012. PA

Kostya Tszyu and Ricky Hatton laugh during a press conference at The Kirribilli Club on November 1, 2014 in Sydney, Australia. Getty Images

Ricky Hatton celebrates victory over Paulie Malignaggi at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on November 22, 2008. AP

Ricky Hatton during his exhibition bout with Marco Antonio Barrera at the AO Arena, Manchester, in 2022. PA

Ricky Hatton training in 2000. Reuters

Ricky Hatton after holding a press conference in Manchester, on January 29, 2009 to confirm his next fight against Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao. AFP

Ricky Hatton takes a break during training at Betta-Bodies Gym in Manchester in 2005. PA

Former world boxing champion Ricky Hatton has died.

Hatton, who was 46, won world titles at light-welterweight and welterweight during his career and his all-action style made him one of the most popular fighters in the first decade of the new century.

Police in Greater Manchester, where Hatton resided, said they are not treating his death as suspicious.

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A police spokesperson said: “Officers were called by a member of the public to attend Bowlacre Road, Hyde, Tameside, at 6.45am today where they found the body of a 46-year-old man. There are not currently believed to be any suspicious circumstances.”

The news comes just months after Hatton announced his return to the ring when he was set to take on UAE fighter Eisa Al Dah in Dubai.

Hatton enjoyed a remarkable 15-year career winning 45 of his 48 professional bouts, last fighting professionally in 2012.

He rose through the ranks to take on the best boxers of his generation including Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao.

Nicknamed “The Hitman”, Hatton achieved an incredible 43-0 record – including world title wins over Russia's Tszyu and Jose Luis Castillo – before losing for the first time to Mayweather Jr in Las Vegas in 2007.

Amir Khan, another former world champion and a friend of Hatton, wrote on X: “Today we lost not only one of Britain's greatest boxers, but a friend, a mentor, a warrior, Ricky Hatton.”

Over recent years Hatton had been open about his mental health, and Khan added: “As fighters, we tell ourselves we're strong – we train, we sweat, we take hits, we get up. But sometimes the hardest fight happens in silence, in the mind.

“Mental health isn't weakness. It's part of being human. And we must talk about it. We must reach out. We must lean on each other.

“Ricky, thank you for everything. For your fights, your moments of glory, your grit. Thank you for pushing us, showing us what's possible.

“To everyone reading this: if you're hurting or struggling, you are not alone. Talk. Reach out. Because we need more light, more compassion, more understanding.

“Rest well, Ricky. You'll always have your place in the ring of our memories.”

Tyson Fury, another British boxing great, posted on Instagram alongside two pictures of him with Hatton: “Rip to the legend Ricky Hatton may he rip.

“There will only ever be 1 Ricky Hatton. Can't believe this so young.”

Chris Eubank Jr wrote, “Rest in Peace Mr Ricky Hatton. We salute you”, while Turki Al-Sheikh, one of the sport's most high-profile promoters, said: “I am saddened by the tragic news of Ricky Hatton's passing at the young age of 46.”

Hatton's former promoter Frank Warren described the fighter as “one of the modern greats of this sport” on X.

“A superbly talented fighter who inspired a generation of young boxers and fans in a way very few had done before due to both his personality and the entertainment he provided in the ring,” wrote Warren.

“From making his debut in Widnes in 1997 to then go on to win one of the most historic fights in British boxing history against Kostya Tszyu in Manchester, Ricky will rightly go down as one of the modern greats of this sport.”

In July, Hatton made the surprise announcement that he was going to fight again for the first time since being stopped in nine rounds by Ukraine's Vyacheslav Senchenko in 2012.

He was due to take on 46-year-old Al Dah in what had been dubbed 'Destiny in the Desert'.

“It will be a true fight, true action,” Hatton had said then. “And I will do my best, because everybody in the UAE and the Gulf, they will watch this fight. The place will be sold out and it will be watched around the world.”