Ricky Hatton ‘Almost Suicidal’ After Losses To Floyd Mayweather Jr. And Manny Pacquiao
Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton has spoken about the little-known hardship that he suffered when he struggled to cope with losses from Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. Hatton revealed he was so depressed that he even considered the thought of taking his own life.
Hatton opened up about his suicidal thoughts in an interview with Ringside Special on Jan. 8. Hatton goes into detail about how dark his life was during the time when he had his ups and downs in his boxing career.
"It was well-documented that I had problems with depression, drink and drugs, suicide and all those things," Hatton said. "It's a culmination of things that you end up wanting to take your own life but the start was Mayweather."
Hatton earned his first-ever defeat, which also ended his 43rd winning streak, when he lost to Mayweather in December 2007. According to Hatton, he faced Mayweather with the confidence and motivation to win in their bout that gave him his biggest payday as a professional boxer. Hatton lost to Mayweather via technical knockout in the 10th round.
After the Mayweather fight, Hatton returned to the ring and faced Mexican-American Juan Lazcano in May 2008. Hatton felt that he did good during the Lazcano fight. However, some of his critics thought differently. He faced negative feedback saying that his performance wasn't that great at all. Hatton recalled that people kept telling him to retire even after his unanimous decision win over Lazcanot
Another blow in Hatton's boxing career was when his trainer Billy Graham parted ways with him. He felt it was one of the lowest points in his career, but Hatton fought back and once again returned to the ring to fight American Paulie Malignaggi in November 2008. Hatton won via technical knockout against Malignaggi to retain his International Boxing Organization, or IBO, and The Ring light welterweight titles.
"But then, I got Pacquiao and got destroyed, so my frame of mind was going up and down, up and down, and that all, accumulated in falling out with my parents," Hatton recalled. "Then that was where the suicide came into it, I didn't really care where I was going."
After his second round knockout loss to Pacquiao in May 2009, Hatton returned to the ring once more for his last career fight against Ukrainian Vyacheslav Senchenko, but suffered yet another knockout loss, his third in his professional boxing career. That was when Hatton decided to officially retire from the sport. He said he just didn't have the heart to go throught he same torture again.
Since hanging up his gloves, Hatton has embarked on a new career as a trainer and a boxing promoter. He owns Hatton Boxing Promotions, which features Lucas Browne, Kirill Relikh, and Damien Hooper among other fighters in his stable.
To reach the author of this article, email r.corpuz@IBTimes.com.au.
