Former world champion boxer Ricky Hatton was found dead in the games room of his home – an inquest heard from his heartbroken mum who said his ‘eyes were sad’
Ricky Hatton’s mum has recalled the last time she saw him and how he gave her a hug that “almost broke my ribs.” Carol Hatton said her son’s “eyes were sad” two days before he died.
In a statement read out at the boxing icon’s inquest, she said they talked about him returning to the ring and him selling his house, the She said as they spoke about this his “eyes were sad.”
She said “the last hug he gave me almost broke my ribs.” Hatton was planning to visit them when he returned from Dubai, the inquest was told. It was also said that he wasn’t happy about his finances, and wanted to discuss them with his dad.
The inquest today revealed that Hatton was suffering with memory loss and had a devastating brain injury. The British sporting icon was discovered dead aged 46 at his home in Hyde, Greater Manchester, on September 14 last year, sending shockwaves through the boxing world.
The full inquest opened today at South Manchester Coroners’ Court in Stockport with Hatton’s last moments under the microscope.
A statement from pathologist Dr Neil Papworth was read out in court. He gave details of the injuries found and concluded they were ‘consistent with hanging’. He said there was ‘no evidence to suggest suspicious circumstances’ in the death.
The court heard that samples of Hatton’s brain were analysed. While ‘no macroscopic abnormalities’ were identified, there was a ‘degree of chronic neuronal loss which is the loss of nerve cells’ in the ‘microscopic’ analysis of the brain, according to Dr Papworth.
The doctor said he found evidence of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) although this was at the ‘milder end of the spectrum of this disease’.
He noted that as a boxer Mr Hatton ‘received repeated blows to his head’ over his career but he said it was ‘not possible’ to determine the process by which Mr Hatton was affected by CTE.
He recorded the cause of death as ‘hanging’.
Det Sgt Helen Grigalis, told the hearing Hatton’s manager, Paul Speak, had called at his house around 6.30am on the Sunday morning of September 14th, but got no reply.
After letting himself in with his own key he found the boxer unresponsive in an upstairs games room.
Hatton was fully dressed and on the pool table was an empty bottle of wine and a half full glass of wine on the bar. The lights were off but music was playing from a TV.
No notes were found. Police were called along with an ambulance who confirmed the death, but could not say when Hatton had died. The house was secure with no signs of a disturbance.
Post mortem found he was well over twice the drink drive limit. It found evidence of previous cocaine use and some of cannabis in his system.
Around 6pm on Friday the 12th Hatton had taken both his daughters and granddaughters out for a meal, returning back home at 7.55pm. He sent a message to a friend at 8.05pm and his phone last unlocked at 12.02 early on the Saturday morning of the 13th with no further phone use.
He had been due to attend an event later that day, a boxing bout in Bolton for a boxer he had trained.
In a statement read out to the court, Hatton’s son Campbell said his father was “very happy, always very laid back, except when it came to sport.”
“He lived his life in and out of the ring at a hundred per cent and as he always said he never regretted it,” said Campbell.
He said his father was “fearless,” but had problems with his mental health and memory loss but was “always generous with people around him.”
He had mental health “battles” and alcohol issues, and went into the Priory, the inquest heard.
“We felt he had been in the best place he had been in for years,” his son added, but there was a “decline’ in his father’s ‘short-term memory” over recent years.
He would forget conversations, including one on the Friday evening before his death, the inquest heard He sometimes showed “how confused and forgetful he could be’,” Campbell added.
Campbell said he believed his father’s death “wasn’t premeditated.”
The coroner gave a narrative conclusion at the inquest which said: “Richard John Hatton died having suspended himself from a ligature. (His) intention remains unclear as he was under the influence of alcohol and a neurological post-mortem found evidence of CTE.”
The coroner said Ricky’s family had: “Lost a much loved family member and are still grieving.”
She said he was a family man at heart who “clearly loved his family very much”. He had “incredible success in his career as a boxer but his family remained the most important thing in his life.” It was “very clear that his family loved him very much”.
She said his children “miss him most of all” but also for parents “it is a tragedy no parent ever expects to bury their child”.
She told Ricky’s dad she was very sorry that the and wife Carol have lost your son.
The coroner said Ricky was looking forward to the future. He was going away with girls to see him box in Dubai.
“He was clearly a man who was looking forwards and making plans.”
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