British boxing legend Ricky Hatton has passed away at the age of 46.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed that a body had been found at the sporting icon’s home in Gee Cross, Hyde, early on Sunday (14 September) morning.
His death is not being treated as suspicious, police said.
A GMP spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we have found a body at an address on Bowlacre Road in Gee Cross at 6.45am today, Sunday, September 14. The death is not being treated as suspicious.”
Hatton competed as a professional boxer from 1997 to 2012, holding numerous world championships in both the light-welterweight and welterweight divisions.
Nicknamed ‘The Hitman’ thanks to his ferocious fists, he went up against some of the best boxers in the game during his illustrious career.
The Stockport-born star had planned to return to the ring in December.
Hatton was set to face Eisa Al Dah in Dubai in a middleweight contest on 2 December later this year.
Discussing his comeback, which would come more than a decade after his last official fight, the boxer said earlier this year: “I’m very much looking forward to it myself, to be honest with you.
“What you’re trying to do there for boxing in Dubai is fantastic.”
His proposed opponent Al Dah added: “It will be a true fight, true action. And I will do my best, because everybody in the UAE and the Gulf, they will watch this fight.
“The place will be sold out and it will be watched around the world.”
In one of the final Instagram posts that he shared before his death, Hatton appeared to be focusing on his fitness ahead of the clash in three months.
Sharing a video of himself on a treadmill, he wrote: “Evening run in the bag. Don’t your worry about that our kid.”
In an earlier post, Hatton said he was two weeks into his training camp and explained: “The difference I felt today after just having one week under my belt felt great.
“Movement & fluency feeling better already. 10 rounds on the bag. After doing 10 rounds padding my fighters as well.”
Hatton retired from boxing in 2012 after being defeated by Vyacheslav Senchenko, before stepping back into the ring with Marco Antonio Barrera for an exhibition ten years later.
