by Ricky Hatton
Anybody and everybody who walks through the gym door wants to be a champion, but even if you don’t achieve that, whether you have a hundred and one fights or one fight, generally you come out of boxing a better person. When the lads come in it’s, ‘Come on, guys, start stretching; get your ropes out; get your gloves out. Oi, put your rope away, you; where’s your bandages, whose are these bandages? Tidy these up. Who’s sparring?’ Then, to start sparring, you touch gloves and there’s respect and manners. It’s life skills and discipline. There were two lads at my amateur boxing club and they absolutely hated each other. They would fight, argue and kick off in the playground every day, but at the age of eleven or twelve they started going to the boxing club and sparring with each other and they became best mates. It’s another boxing cliché, but boxing turns thugs into gentlemen. It teaches you to respect others. It keeps you fit and channels your aggression, so I can’t turn round and say I’m disappointed Campbell has started boxing. He looks just like me – he’s a real chip off the old block.
I would play it by ear in regards to how involved I become if he wants to do it. When we get back from the gym I always give him a little bit of one-to-one in the house, dos and don’ts, and I do a bit of work with him in the gym, but I let the coaches do what they do with him. It would be disrespectful of me if I started sticking my oar in. They’re doing a great job with him. I never let him come to my fights, though. Not even the Senchenko one when he was a bit older. You never can tell what is going to happen. I remember one time Ensley Bingham fought Mpush Makambi for the IBO middleweight title; he had moved up in weight and I had my trainers and second’s licence back then and I was working the corner with Billy Graham. I remember all of Ensley’s kids were there, aged between about thirteen and eight, with their mum, and Ensley got knocked out. We went back to the changing rooms to see the doctor and I could see his children crying with their mum and his family, and I thought it had to be heartbreaking to see. Everyone is different but I didn’t want Campbell to be in that position. Each to their own. Lots of fighters have their kids there and there’s no right or wrong; it’s a personal choice, but you never can tell what will happen.
In fact, Campbell was bad enough when he was younger. He’s always been into wrestling and the WWE, and they have often involved me when they have done big shows in Manchester. Campbell has loved seeing me ‘fight’ Chavo Guerrero and get in the ring with people like John Cena and Triple H. The Undertaker and Batista visited Billy’s gym once, but I once had to square up with a seven-foot monster they called the Big Show and Campbell, who was only young at the time, was blubbing in the front row, thinking the giant was going to kill me.
Sometimes fame has been difficult. I can only take the blame for my own actions, but with what happened in the News of the World I was in a really bad way and certain people took advantage of it, didn’t they? The News of the World was one. I think to myself, ‘If I wasn’t famous nothing would have come of that.’ What isn’t nice about fame is that someone’s always trying to have you over and people want to shit-stir – some people are always going to try and stitch you up. There are pluses and minuses to it all. When you make an appearance somewhere or you’re at a sportsman’s dinner and you see all of the fans who say how much they have followed you – and that some of them even came to Vegas – and when you go to schools and you see the children – money can’t buy that. When I was a kid I would look at Nigel Benn the same way people now look at me and it makes me very proud. But I honestly wouldn’t care if no one knew me. I still do the same things in the same places. Having a pint in the same place, getting pissed in the same pubs and nothing has really changed.
I try to live that way – normally. You grow up, have a family, work to be a good parent, work all your life so you can see your kids and grandkids grow up and know that financially they will be okay. I think that’s the best thing you can possibly do – as a father – to know they’ve been taken care of. I’ve done that. I’ve worked hard for everything I’ve got. I have the best partner I could ever have. I have three lovely kids. We live in a lovely house that I’ve worked hard for. We’ve got a holiday home in Tenerife we can go to and, if the kids want to go to college or university, I know I can provide for them. Their kids and grand-kids will be okay and I will grow up and see my children and their grandkids. That’s my role as a man ticked.
That’s how it is for me. I’m content. I’m happy. I hope the bad days are behind me. I’ve had some amazing things happen to me in the last twenty years that some people won’t experience in a lifetime. And I’m looking forward to the next twenty years. Onwards and upwards.
The depression will never leave me now. I accept that. It will always be there. It’s about how I handle it and cope with it from now on, and I am getting better. Two-week benders now last two days. I can talk to people about my problems. It is an ongoing struggle but I am trying my best and I will continue to do so. Problems will always raise their head, but I’m in a happy place.
I’ve experienced enough wars for a lifetime. There have been wars in and out of the ring, with the scales, with drugs and depression, with drink, with Tszyu, Mayweather, Pacquiao and the others.
Now it’s time for some happiness and peace.
Picture credits
1, 2 © Punch Promotions; 3 © Michael Cleary
4, 5 © Michael Cleary
6 by Paul Speak © Punch Promotions
7 © Michael Cleary
8 by Mark Robinson © Punch Promotions
9 © Michael Cleary; 10 © Paul Speak
11, 12 © Tom Casino
13, 14, 15 © Tom Casino
16 © Michael Cleary; 17 © Tom Casino
18, 20 by Mark Robinson © Punch Promotions
19 © Action Images
21, 22, 23 by Mark Robinson © Punch Promotions
24, 25, 26 by Mark Robinson © Punch Promotions
27, 28, 29 by Mark Robinson © Punch Promotions
30 by Mark Robinson © Punch Promotions
31, 32, 33 © Action Images
34, 35, 36 © Action Images
37, 39 by Mark Robinson © Punch Promotions
38, 40 © Action Images
41 top and bottom left by Mark Robinson © Punch Promotions
41 bottom right by Ricky Hatton © Punch Promotions
War and Peace is the definitive autobiography of one of British boxing’s icons. From a Manchester council estate to the bright lights of Las Vegas, this is the story of epic bouts against true greats of the fight game – Mayweather, Tszyu, Pacquiao – as well as more private battles with depression, drink and drugs.
Written with his trademark honesty and wit, this is the inspiring story of a charismatic, funny, straight-talking fighter who boxing fans have always taken to their hearts; a man who has survived a lifetime of wars both in and out of the ring, and who only now is finding something close to peace.
RICHARD ‘RICKY’ HATTON was born in 1978 and grew up in Hattersley, Greater Manchester. As a young amateur fighter he won several British titles and boxed at the World Junior Boxing Championship in Cuba, before turning pro in 1987. He went on to be champion of the world four times at light-welterweight and welterweight, and was awarded an MBE for services to sport in 2007. He lives in Gee Cross with his girlfriend Jennifer and has three children, Campbell, Millie and Fearne.
1. The first of many animals I’d go on to fight in my career. I think this was taken during one of our family holidays to Blackpool. We had a lot of happy times there and I loved it at the Pleasure Beach.
2. After watching Rocky IV, I copied those blond spikes of Ivan Drago. This was my first schoolboy fight at the Assembly Rooms in Derby, Class A. I would have been thirteen, weighed 42kgs and was boxing Dale Youth’s Michael Beary.
3. Matthew followed me to the gym and into the pro ranks, becoming a European champion and fighting for a world title. This was taken on the steps of the Mottram & Hattersley ABC when we were about to box on the same bill.
/> 4. I won the ABAs at eighteen. This was against Darlington ABC’s Michael Hall, who had won it the previous year. I was going to pull out of the final because I thought I’d fractured my wrist in an earlier fight.
5. On the way to the ABA finals, boxing through the East Lancashire and Cheshire Division against Jamie Spence. You can see from this bloodbath that I enjoyed a good fight back then. Nothing changed.
6. Flanked by Ensley Bingham and Carl Thompson, gym mates at the Phoenix Camp, when the Salford gym closed and we trained out of the Mottram & Hattersley ABC. Bingham was still fighting, Carl was world champion and I was in awe of training alongside fighters like them.
7. Training with Billy near his gym in Salford. This is one of the first pictures taken of us together, right at the start of our journey.
8. I was always known as a body puncher, but Billy fine-tuned it during many sessions at the Betta Bodies gym in Denton, Manchester.
9. Me and Jon Thaxton knocked ten bells out of each other, but it was the fight that made people sit up and think maybe I could go further in the sport.
10. A nice, normal cup of tea round Bernard Manning’s house. I had this picture done for my games room. Later, on the after-dinner circuit, we were billed as Manchester Legends. I knew him as a close family friend who raised millions for charity.
11. Ben Tackie was the toughest guy I boxed. He wasn’t the best, but he was so durable and my punches just bounced off him. He took shots like this one and nothing happened.
12. Eamonn Magee gave me the best learning fight of my career. He knocked me on my arse and I had to compose myself after a period where I’d been flattening everyone. He also taught me some invaluable lessons outside the ring, and became an unlikely ally.
13. I remember this like yesterday: me, Kostya Tszyu and promoter Frank Warren. You can see the confidence in me, even though I was finally stood there with the great man.
14. We’re swapping punches and although Tszyu was supposed to flatten me with his right, here’s me holding my own and landing mine.
15. You hit me with three, Kostya, so here’s one back. I catch Tszyu low in the ninth, but he’d nailed me downstairs before then.
16. I was shattered, trying to summon one last bit of energy before the final round, when Billy said it was all over. We’d done it together. We knew we would, but I’m sure no one believed us.
17. I think the fight will always be remembered for the respect we showed before and after. We were both very complimentary to each other when we took the microphone and addressed the crowd.
18. The Las Vegas logo, stitched onto the back of my gown. Las Vegas became my second home.
19. The fans make their presence felt in Las Vegas before the Castillo weigh-in. Little did we know that the crowds would get bigger and bigger. My fanbase was my proudest achievement.
20. Tom Jones and David Beckham watch me warm up in the changing rooms in Vegas, not bad for a kid off the council estate. Tom sang the national anthem for me twice, and I lost both times. Don’t call me, Tom, I’ll call you.
21. I think this left hook against Castillo was the best I’ve ever thrown in my career and it was one of my best performances. Referee Joe Cortez stood back and let us get on with it in close.
22. Pure passion. You can see what the performance meant to me. The American journey had been a bit of a disappointment until I stopped Castillo. I needed to impress, and I did.
23. Wayne Rooney and Marco Antonio Barrera carried my belts to the ring. Wayne is to football what I was to boxing. He wears his heart on his sleeve and what you see is what you get. I wasn’t sure Marco would side with me against a fellow Mexican, but he said I was his ‘brother’.
24. Thousands upon thousands showed up in the rain at Manchester Town Hall and Floyd Mayweather was as original as ever with his Manchester United top on. Fans were singing ‘Who are ya?’ and he was sticking the V-sign up. That’s show business.
25. At one of the press conferences, about fourteen weeks out and I probably hadn’t even started training. You couldn’t get two more different people, it was good cop/bad cop.
26. Floyd wound me up, but the more I saw of him, the more confident I was. At the weigh-in, he leant forward and I practically nutted him.
27. It was my work rate versus Floyd nailing me with his hand speed and slippery movement. Once you get in, you have to be allowed to work and I wasn’t.
28. The moment I lost the fight. Floyd ducked beneath the ropes and I missed with a right and still got a point deducted. He was ducking below and turning his back. ‘What do you want me to do when he’s like that?’ I asked Cortez.
29. Despite the loss to Floyd, I’m pictured here with Jennifer and my mum and dad in happier times.
30. Boxing can be a lonely game. After losing to Mayweather, I found it hard to get going again in the gym and depression started creeping in for the first time.
31. Before, After – and After That: in the fatsuit, looking ripped and enjoying a couple of Blue Moons. Not many fighters have a beer named after them.
32. There were some who said I should think about quitting, but I felt I was back to my best against Paulie Malignaggi. As skilful and talented as Paulie was, he wasn’t strong enough to keep me off.
33. Boxing at Eastlands in front of 58,000. I think it will be a long time before a fighter brings in the crowds like I did.
34. I learned a lot from Floyd Mayweather Sr, but I tried to stay focused on the fight while he seemed to want to steal the show.
35. I was too gung-ho against Manny Pacquiao and he’s about to land the lead right hook that knocked me down the first time.
36. The most horrifying picture I’ve ever seen of myself. From the minute Pacquiao put my lights out things went from bad to worse in my life.
37. I shed nearly five stone for my comeback and don’t think I ever looked better, even as I fought my demons away from the ring.
38. My last entrance was an emotional one. Now it’s all over, the ring-walk with the fans screaming and singing and the adrenaline pumping is what I will miss the most.
39. ‘Come on Ricky!’ I could hear the fans shout. But I just couldn’t get up and as Victor Loughlin counted me out, Manchester and boxing went into mourning.
40. My assistant Mike Jackson tries to console me, but you can see the despair and the heartbreak. I can imagine everyone thought, ‘Oh my god, where will he end up now?’ I feel proud that I’ve managed to keep things together.
41. My family, my world. After so many ups and downs, I’m happy at last with beautiful Jen, Campbell, Millie and baby Fearne.
First published 2013 by Macmillan
This electronic edition published 2014 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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ISBN 978-1-4472-4551-3
Copyright © Ricky Hatton 2013
The right of the authors to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The picture acknowledgements here constitute an extension of this copyright page.
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