Ricky Hatton Opens Up On His Mental Health – ‘I Tried To Kill Myself'

Ricky Hatton opened up on his previous mental health crisis that plagued his life.

Despite being a two-weight world champion, Hatton’s career was marred by personal problems in the aftermath.

His losses to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao were tough to take, given the manner of the defeats. 

An tenth-round TKO loss to Mayweather in the biggest fight of his career ended Hatton’s undefeated record. Meanwhile, a second-round knockout at the hands of Manny left Hatton flat on the canvas. 

Although Hatton has since then become an advocate for mental health, he did admit that the Mayweather loss sent him to a dark place. 

"It started with Mayweather. I was down, I was devastated and just in a mindset of highs and lows. I’d been beaten by Floyd Mayweather and people said, ‘well it’s Mayweather, there’s no need to be embarrassed’ but I thought I was going to beat him.

"When I didn’t, I took it hard. I felt like packing the game in and I decided to carry on and boxed at the City Of Manchester Stadium [now Etihad Stadium] in front of 55,000 people, so that was a dream to fight at the City stadium so mentally. I was back up.

"Shortly after I fell out with Billy Graham, my trainer and one of my best friends, so I was down and devastated by that.

"I fought Paulie Malignaggi and I was up again, then I was knocked out by Manny Pacquiao in two rounds, so mentally I was down and then I fell out with my mum and dad," Hatton

Fast Forward today, Hatton has plenty of things to look forward to. His son, Campbell Hatton, has turned professional as he is looking to follow in the footsteps of his father and become a world champion.

So far, he is undefeated with 12 wins on his resume. Not only that, but Hatton has also been enjoying life in the ring.

He recently returned to face Marco Antonio Barrera in an exhibition bout. The return was memorable, as Hatton went the distance in the eight rounder. 

The fight showed Hatton with a new-slim physique, as he admitted that he was in a much better place. And that has played out today with other fighters too.

Tyson Fury’s comeback has shown that it is possible to overcome mental health struggles. The ‘Gypsy King’ overcame alcohol and mental health struggles to become the WBC heavyweight champion.

And in doing so, he inspired a new wave of fighters to speak out about the issues publicly. And it was also fitting that Hatton happened to be in the corner for Fury’s first fight with Wilder.

With that being said, the former world champion was grateful for how things have played out today. 

"Getting it off your chest and sharing – it’s hard for men. You can’t go in your local and say to your friends that you’re crying every day and you want to kill yourself so you keep it inside you and it’s the worst thing that you can do.

"I tried to kill myself several times and when I look at my life today, there’s things that I’m so grateful for.

"If I had taken my own life, I wouldn’t have seen Campbell go professional, I wouldn’t have been a granddad, I wouldn’t have seen my daughters turn into the lovely people that they are," Hatton

Hatton’s legacy will continue to live on, both inside and outside of the ring. And it will inspire the next generation of fighters to show them that anything is possible.

You can stay up-to-date with the latest happenings in the world of boxing by visiting boxingblitz right here.