Support from fans a 'blessing' for Hatton family

Ricky Hatton’s son Campbell said the family have not been able to grieve his father’s death privately but called the support they have had from people a “blessing”.

The former world light-welterweight and welterweight champion died last September aged 46.

Thousands of people lined the route for the boxer’s funeral procession from Hyde to Manchester Cathedral the following month.

“As a family we’ve not been able to grieve with any privacy and there’s a lot of negatives that have come from that – but if there’s a positive, it’s that people walking down the street say nice things and check up on us. That’s the blessing behind it,” Campbell, who has also boxed professionally, told BBC Radio Manchester.

“To everyone it’s heartbreaking. Not just Manchester, the whole country and the sport are heartbroken because they have lost Ricky Hatton but it’s just my dad to me.”

He added: “We were all so proud of the fanbase he had but to see it day to day… It’s nice.

“It shocked me the most at the funeral when we were in the cars making our way to the cathedral.

“There wasn’t a part of the route that wasn’t full of people. You couldn’t see a bit of pavement for the three hours we were in the car.

“We knew how popular he was but to actually see it in front of you was something else and we can’t thank people enough.”

A special Evening4Ricky is being held at Manchester Arena, a venue where he enjoyed some of the greatest successes of his career, on Sunday, 7 June.

Campbell said they want the event to be “a celebration and a party” for the much-loved boxer.

“I think everyone in boxing, if they’re available, they want to be here and that is a testament to the man he was. It’s massive for people,” he said.

“I think it will be impossible for it to end up being a sad occasion. It’s going to be a great night.”

Mental health issue ‘not going anywhere’

The Evening4Ricky event will raise money for the Ricky Hatton Foundation.

The mental health charity was created the month after Ricky’s death and the website says its missions include raising awareness of mental health challenges, removing the stigma around mental illness and offering direct support through talking therapies and community programmes.

Hatton had been candid about his own episodes of poor mental health, struggles with drink and drugs, and past suicide attempts after he retired from the ring for a second time in 2012.

Campbell said the foundation was a fitting way to continue his father’s legacy.

“I think it’s getting a worse and worse problem. Just before my dad passed away, I lost one of my best mates to suicide as well and it’s a problem that is not going to go anywhere unless we do something about it. The more we can do about it the better,” the 25-year-old said.

“For the last couple of years, it’s been spoken about plenty but actually going and doing it is harder than it sounds.

“I’ve had my own battles and I heard it all the time that you should be talking – but to get yourself there and do it is the hard bit.

“Once you’ve started it’s easy. I still do it now every week and it helps. It works.

“He [Ricky] was doing a lot for mental health himself. He was always an ambassador for it. It was what he saw his purpose as after boxing and I think we should continue doing that in his name.”