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Topics: Boxing, Boxing News, Ricky Hatton
Jack Kenmare
British boxing icon Ricky Hatton has been found dead at his home in Greater Manchester.
On Sunday morning, Greater Manchester Police confirmed that a body had been found at Hatton's address and that the death was not being treated as suspicious.
A GMP spokesperson 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."
A police cordon is in place at his home on Bowlacre Road in Gee Cross, Hyde, as per the Manchester Evening News.
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The former British two-weight world champion, a hugely popular figure in the boxing world, was 46 years old. He had been due to return to the ring in December this year, 13 years on from his last professional bout.
As mentioned above, Hatton recently announced that he would be making a comeback to the ring in a professional bout against United Arab Emirates fighter Eisa Al Dah.
He took part in an exhibition bout with Marco Antonio Barrera in 2022, but it would have been his first professional contest since 2012, when he was stopped by Ukraine’s Vyacheslav Senchenko.
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Speaking about the contest in July, Hatton said: "Just a quick statement at how excited I am about putting the gloves on again on December 2nd in Dubai."
He continued: “I always said after my exhibition a couple of years ago with Marco if another opportunity came up, I’d always look at it and weigh up the pros and cons. I have done and this is a good and sensible fight for me."
“I’m 47 years old, not unlike my opponent, I’m not 58 years old. I’m not going into world level or straight into a world title fight. I know I’m no longer at world level these days. But I have the good sense to know what fights are good for me and what fights are beyond me."
Hatton added: "No matter how old we get in life we still have goals, ambitions, targets to set yourself.”
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In his prime, the talented Stockport-born fighter recorded wins over Kostya Tszyu and Jose Luis Castillo before suffering defeats against Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao towards the end of his career.
Hatton, who won 45 of his 48 professional fights, had spoken openly about his struggles with mental health.