‘I never stopped being a champion’: Ricky Hatton reveals motivation behind boxing return

‘The Hitman’ is returning to the ring for the first time in 10 years

Rickey Hatton believes Joshua will take the win (Getty Images)

Ricky Hatton admits he is returning to the ring to give himself a “reason to get out of bed every single day” as he opened up on his struggle with depression after retiring from the sport.

Hatton, who hung up his gloves in 2012 after being knocked out by Vyacheslav Senchenko, will return to boxing and take part in the charity eight-round bout with Marco Antonio Barrera at the Manchester Arena on 2 July.

‘The Hitman’ spoke about his loss to Floyd Mayweather in 2007, admitting after the defeat he felt as though he couldn’t “go out in public” and described that time in his life as “horrible.”

Speaking about his experience on the Gary Newbon Sports Show with Jewson, Hatton said: “I think you have got to have something in the back of your head that gets the ball rolling when it comes to depression. 

“The thing that got the ball rolling for me was the Mayweather fight. I didn’t just turn up for my biggest payday to fight Floyd Mayweather. I genuinely thought I was going to beat him.

“Then when I didn’t, I couldn’t do any appearances. I couldn’t go out in public. I couldn’t show my face. It was a real horrible experience.”

Hatton claims the charity exhibition in July will give him a reason to get up in the mornings, stating: “I might be retired but I am not dead.

“I never stopped being a champion. I never stopped wanting to succeed. You still need a reason to get out of bed every single day.”

‘The Hitman’ spoke about how he and Tyson Fury have battled with depression and drew on similarities between their experiences.

The 2005 Ring magazine Fighter of the Year likened his sufferings to Fury’s, when the heavyweight found himself in “very dark place” after winning the world title against Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.

Hatton said: “Tyson was very similar to me. I have spoken to Tyson about this. He’s not going into as much detail, but he said he just got into a very, very dark place.

“He even said he was depressed when he won the world title. You think to yourself, how can you become the heavyweight champion of the world and still be in such a deep and dark place.

“Tyson has never been driven by money. He’s been driven by the goal to be a champion. So, I don’t know why his head fell off.

“It must have been personal problems. For me it was very specific things whereas for Tyson he was like I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I just won the heavyweight title, and I don’t what’s wrong with me. So, everyone is different.”

‘The Gypsy King’ returned to fight Deontay Wilder in 2018, after two years of inactivity due to mental health issues, alcoholism, recreational drug use and extreme weight gain. Hatton was present in Fury’s corner for his first fight back which ended in a controversial split draw.