When Ricky Hatton looked in the mirror ahead of this year’s Pride of Manchester Awards, an intense realisation dawned on him. The former world champion looked back at a man “drowning” in his suit after recently shedding almost four stone. Thoughts of returning to the man that once tipped the scales at 15 stone “scared” him, pushing him to further commit to a new lifestyle. It is one that has seen him, at 44 years of age, fall back in love with boxing and embrace the challenge of a four-round exhibition bout on Saturday against another legendary fighter: Marco Antonio Barrera.
Hatton, like many, struggled throughout the Covid pandemic and lost his cousin during lockdown.
