Ricky Hatton begged a psychiatrist for help after his brutal 2009 defeat to Manny Pacquiao, telling him: “You need to tell me today what to do, otherwise I won't be here next week… I'm going to kill myself.”
The former world champion, now starring in ITV ’s Dancing with the Star, gave a remarkably honest and candid account of his mental health struggles, as his boxing career and personal life began to disintegrate.
Hatton’s struggles initially began in 2007 when he suffered his first professional defeat at the hands of Floyd Mayweather. The Hitman admitted the loss was "very hard for me to swallow", and although he returned to winning ways with victory over Juan Lazcano, his knockout defeat to Pacquiao - in what would ultimately be his penultimate fight - followed a falling out with long-time trainer and close family friend Billy Graham.
That’s when his issues really reared their head, as he fell out with his parents and split up from his ex-wife, Claire.
"You can see how my mind was going up and down and up and down,” he told Man Magazine in November. "And then I was just sat in my living room, thinking to myself, 'You've got no boxing no more, you can't share what you've done with your mum and dad, you can't share it with your trainer, you haven't got a wife anymore…' I thought, 'What do I need to be here for?'
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"I didn't want to be here, I really didn't. Back in the day, when I was in a really, really bad place, I just used to sit in the house and not leave the house.
"I used to just dwell on things. I think the more time you give yourself to just sit there and ponder, the worse it gets. You go under."
Ricky Hatton is caught by a shot to the body by Manny Pacquiao (PA)Hatton believes there is a "stigma" that prevents a lot of people from speaking up about their struggles and says he did not want to "burden" his loved ones with the "grief of me being suicidal and wanting to kill myself". He added: "My girlfriend at the time got pregnant with our daughter, Millie, and I thought, 'Come on, Rick, it's not about you now; it's about the kids. Get yourself together.'
"But even Millie couldn’t get me back on track. I was still down. So I went and spoke to a psychiatrist in Manchester and just threw myself on my knees and said, 'You need to tell me what I'm going to do. I can't do it on my own. I need help. You need to tell me today what to do, otherwise I won't be here next week… I'm going to kill myself'.
"Every time I went and saw them, I came out with a huge sigh of relief. It was just unbelievable. It burns you up inside and you hold it in, you hold it in, you hold it in. You need to tell someone, but you don't, because you feel you can't, and it gets worse and worse and worse. When I finally went to my psychiatrist and got it off my chest, I felt like I could start my life again."
Former world champion boxer Ricky HattonHatton now works as a boxing trainer and is regularly in the corner of his son Campbell, who is 14-0 after turning professional in 2021. He also works with several mental health charities and hopes to help others by sharing his story.
"It's a bad time for mental health," he continued. "People out there are suffering. My job now, for as long as I am here, I want to help people. Bad times don't last forever. You think they're going to last forever, but they don't last forever, and they won’t last forever if you go and speak to someone.
"I'm a former boxing champion who won four world titles, I'm supposed to be a tough guy, aren't I? And I couldn't do it myself. It doesn't matter what I did in the boxing ring or anything like that, I needed help.”
If you are struggling with your mental health or if you need to talk and don't know where to turn to, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit the website to find your local branch.
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