Ricky Hatton's manager found boxer dead at home as devastated friends speak of his last days
Ricky Hatton(Image: PA)Ricky Hatton's long-standing manager found the body of his great friend at the boxer's home in Hyde on Sunday morning, boxing commentator Steve Bunce has revealed.Bunce, a close friend of Hatton, said he spoke to Hatton's manager, Paul Speak, on Monday night.He told the BBC: "He filled me in on a few details about the Friday night and the Saturday night. On the Saturday night, Ricky hadn't gone to a boxing show."Speaky had found out Sunday morning. Speaky went round and let himself into the house. In fact it was Paul Speak who found his great friend and the people's champion Ricky Hatton.Never miss a story with the MEN's daily Catch Up newsletter - get it in your inbox by signing up here"Speaky deserves a little bit of love. You can't even begin to imagine. It's a 25-year relationship they've had as his commercial and business manager, but more than that it's his close friend. It's his confidant."I can't think of another relationship like it in sport to be perfectly honest. So Speaky was the one that found him."Fans are flocking to his home to leave tributes(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)He said no one knew Hatton better than Speak.Bunce and former boxer and Manchester City footballer Stacey Copeland, also a close friend of Hatton, spoke to the BBC Five Live for a special 'Remembering Ricky Hatton' programme which aired on Monday night.Copeland said Hatton 'dared to dream' and told how she saw Hatton last on Thursday at his gym."He'd just finished training," she said. Hatton was due to be in Dubai today, Monday, to sign a contract for a fight he was due to have in December against UAE fighter Eisa Al Dah, she added."He was saying he had a problem with his elbow," Copeland said. "It was starting to hurt. We just had a bit of a joke, saying 'you are knocking on now Rick'. That was it. To say it was a shock is a massive understatement," she added.Tributes at the Manchester derby(Image: PA)Greater Manchester Police said on Sunday 46-year-old Hatton had been found dead at his home in Hyde, Tameside. The police said there were no suspicious circumstances.Tributes to Hatton, a former world welterweight champion, are being paid across sport and wider society.On Monday, his family issued a statement via Greater Manchester Police. "Richard was so much more than a world champion," they said. "To us he was simply ‘Richard’, our son. A loving father, grandfather, and brother, and a true friend to many."He had a heart as big as his smile, and his kindness, humour and loyalty touched everyone who was lucky enough to know him.Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE"To the wider world, Richard will always be remembered as one of boxing’s greatest champions — a man who gave everything inside the ring and wore his heart on his sleeve outside of it.”Arguably Hatton’s finest moment was his victory over Kostya Tszyu to win the IBF welterweight title at Manchester Arena in June 2005.He went on to fight other big names in his sport such as Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao. Hatton’s down-to-earth demeanour also endeared him to fans across the world, and he was open about the mental health issues he endured upon his retirement from the ring.
