Paulie Malignaggi Opens Up on Biggest Regret About Ricky Hatton's Death

Former boxing world champion Paulie Malignaggi has opened up about his biggest regret following Ricky Hatton's death.

Hatton was found dead in his Greater Manchester home on September 14 by his manager and friend Paul Speak.

Ncknamed 'The Hitman', Hatton was one of the most popular British boxers in history, holding multiple world championships during his career.

Thousands of mourners took to the streets for his funeral on October 10, with the ceremony held at Manchester Cathedral following a procession around the city.

An inquest at Stockport Coroner's Court on October 16 heard that Hatton was found hanged.

He was last seen by his family on September 12, when he appeared well.

A full inquest has been scheduled for March 20, 2026.

Following the news of Hatton's cause of death, former WBA welterweight champion Malignaggi spoke about the importance of checking in with loved ones.

Paulie Malignaggi. Image: Thaddaeus McAdams / Contributor via Getty

The 44-year-old told Boxing King Media: "It's kind of cliche to say check on your friends and make sure everybody's okay.

"But that's how I process it because I've said many times, I wasn't in the UK, I wasn't in England and I didn't reach out to Ricky because I thought, hey, Ricky's famous, Ricky's got a lot going on.

"He doesn't want to hear from me, and then you look back and I would have reached out, he could have had that lifeline in that moment. "

Malignaggi, who now works as a boxing commentator and analyst continued: "I think when people do that to themselves, yes it's a weak moment, but if you're able to get to the next day, the sun rises and maybe the moment changes.

"But there are people that are susceptible to that and they need good company around them, they need a support system around them.

Ricky Hatton. Image: Dave Thompson / Stringer via Getty

"So be a support system to your friends and be a support system to your loved ones, it takes one moment of weakness as we saw."

Hatton was known as The People's Champion, with 30,000 British fans travelling to Las Vegas for his fight with Floyd Mayweather in 2007.

He retired with a professional record of 45 wins from 48 fights, with his only defeats coming against Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Vyacheslav Senchenko.

Speaking to Good Morning Britain before the inquest, Hatton's son Campbell reflected on his father's passing.

"Yeah it's been a bit of a whirlwind the last few weeks.

"Obviously, we've been leading up to the funeral, which was unbelievable to see the amount of love everyone had for my dad.

"There were thousands in the streets, and there was a lot of comfort to take from that."

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