Speaking to Prime Casino, British Boxing legend and former world champion Ricky Hatton reveals what turned him into an elite fighter and opens up on a blossoming romance with Coronation Street star Claire Sweeney.
- I became an elite fighter because I was bullied at school
- I have too much ‘bad blood’ with Floyd Mayweather to fight him under exhibition rules
- Conor McGregor ‘has not been kind to his body’
- I thought I had ‘half a chance’ with Claire Sweeney
You were recently inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, what does it take to reach the elite level?
When I first laced up the gloves on a council estate in Manchester I was ten years old and I was watching the likes of Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammad Ali to name but a few, so the fact that my name has gone down in the Hall of Fame alongside these fighters is absolutely incredible. But if you're going to ask me what it takes to get to that level, what does it take to get to the very top? You have to be able to tick every box from a boxing point of view.
Firstly you've got to have the ability and you've got to have the heart, there's no point of having the ability if you haven't got the heart, and there's no point of having the heart if you haven't got ability. You're not going to get to the very, very elite on heart alone, you need to have a good boxing brain. But the main thing that helped me to perform at the highest level was my self belief.
I won a world title because I believed in myself despite what they said about me. When I was coming up in Manchester as a good prospect they used to say ‘yeah, he sells a lot of tickets, he's very exciting but his defence is a bit leaky, he gets cut every time he fights, I'm not sure he's going to get to the top’. This opinion wasn't from the odd person, this was pretty much every article that I read about myself at the time - and I used that as my fuel.
I wanted to prove them wrong. And then when I won my world title against the pound for pound number two Kostya Tszyu, everybody had me getting knocked out. It used to infuriate me. I thought - was I missing something here because I had huge self belief in winning that fight. I kept the faith in my ability and in my confidence and my gameplan. This applies not only in boxing but in every walk of life, you need to have huge self belief in yourself, then when people start to knock you, you won't crumble.
That's why I got to where I got. I think that mindset that I developed early on helped me in my career and when I first got defeated by Floyd Mayweather for the first time, it was absolutely devastating. I felt like chucking it in but I came back and I won my title back against Paulie Malignaggi and went on to fight Manny Pacquiao. I got beat up at school but I wouldn't let it beat me, I got knocked out by Floyd Mayweather but I came back.
What significant moments in your life helped to forge that unbreakable mentality?
It comes from when I was bullied at school and it was frustrating for me. My mum and dad used to tell me to tell the teacher, so I told the teacher but then I still got battered, so one of my mates said ‘why don’t you go to the boxing club, maybe you can have a little spar with the bully and get into him that way’. To begin with the bully was getting the better of me in sparring, but I'd go home and think about things that I could do better, so after four or five spars I was getting the better of him, and I was knocking lumps out of him which gave me the confidence from early doors - I was getting the better of the school bully who used to beat me up.
If I didn't have anything about me, I'd have given up, but I stayed at it and stayed at it till I got the better of him. Something inside of me didn't allow me to stand for it. I had it inside of me but it's something that you can grow, if you have down points and you're not succeeding you have to stay at it and stay at it, you can increase your confidence.
Aside from self belief are there any other ingredients that have helped you reach the top?
Dedication. Some of the greatest fighters that ever lived have been beaten by fighters who just wanted it more than them. I was able to beat fighters that were better than me, more talented than me, more ability than me because I would dedicate myself to studying fighters.
I studied tapes over and over again to get the game plan together. Kostya Tszyu was more talented than me, but I had a good game plan and I came in shape. And when I stepped up seven pounds to fight Luis Collazo, a naturally bigger man, I came out on top again because of heart and my gameplan. It's self belief and dedication.
By your own admission you used to balloon between fights, how were you able to continue to perform at the elite level?
With the ballooning between fights, you could say I wasn't dedicated. But you could also say I was extremely dedicated. When I was doing my four and six round fights early on, I had nine fights in my first year as a professional, that's a fight near enough every six weeks, so how often are you in the pubs? You're not, you live in the gym. At championship level it was three fights a year and I used to do 12 week training camps for those three fights.
That’s 36 weeks of the year, so I turn around and say I was extremely dedicated. But I did spend those years of my career with one hand behind my back, as I had to lose three stones per fight. I was dedicated when I was in the gym, but when I was out the gym I could have done a little bit more. But in those 12 weeks I was extremely dedicated, I didn't cut any corners. And I couldn't cut any corners because I'd already left myself a mountain to climb. If I could turn the clock back, would I change it? I don't think so, everyone liked me for being one of them, a jack the lad. But ballooning did take a couple years off my career.
Why do elite performers often experience a fall from grace once they’ve reached their goal?
I didn't want to retire. I didn't want to no longer hear the song 'There's only one Ricky Hatton'. Some people can cope with retirement, I couldn't. I used to go to boxing matches at the Manchester Arena and I had to leave a couple times because the minute I could hear the raw of the crowd I'd start getting teary eyed. It was horrific and I went through a horrific depressive time.
What do you think of Ryan Garcia’s behaviour and drug ban?
We were thinking ‘has Ryan flipped his lid’ or ‘has he the plot here’ before the Devin Haney fight. And then he put on that great performance again, so we were then thinking he had fooled us all. He's kidded the world. But then in the aftermath with the drug ban and the stuff on social media after the fight, it didn't look right. The best thing he’s done was admitting to himself that he has mental health problems.
You can’t lie to yourself. And that's what he's done, he's said he's suffered from mental health and had a tough time with it. If he had stayed there and kept it to himself, he could have ended up in a very bad place.
Should he use the ban to address the problems in his life?
He's got 12 months to get the ban out the way and get his head right, he'll come back from the break stronger. When I got beat by Mayweather, I ballooned up in weight and everyone said ‘that's the end of Ricky Hatton, he won't be back’. And I thought ‘I'll show you’. So in my next fight I came out in a fat suit, that was my two fingers up to everyone who thought I couldn't do it.
And if Ryan Garcia has got the same about him - people are saying he's had a drug ban, mental health problems, he won't come back the same - but if he's the champion that I think he is, he'll want to come back and ram it down everyone's throat after 12 months. That's my advice to him, get yourself right. Nevermind the money, nevermind the boxing, it's all about you and if you get yourself right, then you can go back to that.
Are you open to lending support?
I'd absolutely be open to helping him. I would have loved for somebody to come and help me and give me advice when I was going through my problems, but it was a bit different back then, people were afraid of admitting something was wrong. But more people are coming forward, because the sooner you can come forward, the sooner you can get help.
Tyson Fury was seen falling out of a pub recently intoxicated, is he letting his hair down after a long camp or is he struggling with the defeat?
I think the criticism of Tyson has been unfair. I mean it doesn't look good when he's on his hands and knees to be honest, but I've been there loads of times, but everyone just assumes he's in a bad place. Listen, let him fall on his hands and knees and let him go out. How long was he in that training camp for?
He did two or three camps back to back with the cut. Let him blow off a bit of steam. I don't like what I read about him really suffering with his defeat, yes he would have been gutted, but don't kick him when he's down. It's disgusting. He's been in a massive training camp, he's letting his hair down and he's fallen over, and someone is there with the camera taking the p***. Let him have a pint. What do people expect, to get beaten by Usyk and then get straight back in the gym?
After headbutting a member of Usyk’s team, where do you sit on John fury’s influence on camp?
I don't think the family can condone what John did. He doesn't bring calm, I know Tyson likes that bravado, but I can't see how it would be good for the camp, he doesn't have an easing or soothing effect nutting someone from the opposing camp, I love John and he'd be the first person to say it looking back in hindsight. How many of us have made a mistake looking back in hindsight? I think you do need a little bit of calm, never mind Tyson, that must have stressed the whole family out.
You don't want to see your dad or grandad have a scrap with someone. For the sake of the family, for the sake of Tyson, I think John will probably look at that and say that's probably not one of my best nights.
My money's on Tyson in the rematch. I think he'll change the game plan. He was back pedalling away so fast when Usyk was coming forward he lost all of his power. He had no leverage going backwards. If he holds his feet, I don't think Usyk would be so keen to come forward.
You described the roar of the crowd as addicting before, is that why Conor McGregor continues to fight?
That's exactly why Conor McGregor still wants to fight, he's a little bit like me and Tyson Fury. We all play off the crowd in our own way and I think when they retire that will be the regret - not getting that euphoria and feeling from the crowd or being told that you're the best in the world. I struggled and I worry for Conor and Tyson for when the day comes when they've got to hang them up. I wonder what they are going to do.
If Conor's coming to the end now and he's not long to go, I would start setting the wheels in motion now for what they're going to do after they retire. Just a few ideas to have in the pipeline because there's nothing worse than finishing and sitting on your settee.
You were out for a similar time that Conor’s been out for - what is the effect on the body?
I wasn't doing good things to my body and I wasn't doing good things between my mind. I don't know, but my guess is Conor's probably done the same in the three years he's had off, not being very kind to his body. My body, sooner or later, turned around and said 'I know you've been doing this all your career but it can't do it anymore’.
But some people come back stronger, I'm just thinking because of Conor's mentality and Tyson's mentality and my mentality being similar, we're not going to spend them three years off going to the museum, or going for Sunday afternoon walks over the hills.
Deontay Wilder said he was worried about Jake Paul seriously damaging Mike Tyson, do you share this concern?
There was an understanding between me and Marco Antonio Barerra and Roy Jones and Mike Tyson, we all knew it was an exhibition and the fans could enjoy us showcasing our skills one last time. But Mike and Jake have a full blown fight. Did we not learn from when Evander Holyfield got knocked out in that fight? Did we not learn? I do think if Mike hits Jake Paul he will knock him into the middle of next week, but at 58 years old - he looks explosive on the pads - but can he maintain that in round two, three and four.
He may well be able to dish it out but is he going to be able to take what's coming back? Mike Tyson is everyone's hero, he's probably Jake Paul's hero, so why would you want to put yourself in position, no matter how much money they're going to offer you, where you could potentially knock out your hero? This should be taken out of Mike and Jake's hand.
Floyd Mayweather has recently reduced the prices of his up-coming exhibition, how would tickets have sold for if he was boxing you instead?
No doubt our tickets would have sold out. I sell out wherever I go, I wouldn't need Mayweather to sell out a fight, but if it was with Floyd then without doubt the tickets would have gone. Although I don't know if an exhibition would work between me and Floyd, I don't know if there's too much under the table and too much bad blood. I was p***** off at the referee in our fight, I thought he was s***.
I'm not saying I would have beaten Floyd anyway because it's Floyd Mayweather, but there was an understanding between me and Marco that this was an exhibition. Marco is a respectful person and so am I. But I don't think there would be that ‘wink, wink, nudge, nudge’ between me and Floyd. But it would sell out in an hour.
Daniel Dubois says he dropped AJ in sparring, does it matter years later?
It's all a mind game, you'd have to have been there at the time to see how heavy the knockdown was. It could have been a slip or it could have been a full-blown knockdown and he was shaken up. If it was that, I think it would leave a little bit of a mark, definitely. But we've all been put down in sparring, we've all been shook up a bit. That's part and parcel boxing but it might leave a mark. If it was me then I would think ‘I'm going to get my own back on you’. That's my attitude. There will be some people who will be thinking s*** this guy knocked me down before, but I don't think AJ falls into that bracket. He's an Olympic gold medalist and he's been a unified world champion. I don't think a knockdown would have damaged him too much.
I think AJ beats Daniel, he's bigger than Daniel for a start and that’s saying something because Daniel is a beast of a fighter. But AJ's got his confidence back now. You can also say that about Daniel after his last couple of fights. It’s the perfect time for this fight, both of them are in great form, I think AJ's got a little bit more in his armoury, he's got a little bit more boxing ability and he seems to be much more looser under bed Davidson, he’s throwing his punches with a lot more snap these days. Having said that, Daniel only needs one punch. It’s one of those fights where if Daniel landed and knocked AJ out it wouldn't surprise me, but AJ could outbox Daniel early and then knock him out and I think that's where my money would go.
Did you expect to find love on the ice?
I didn't go on Dancing on Ice to find romance, I just went in hoping I wouldn't break my f****** neck. I've known Claire for a while. I've met her at a few functions and at different events over the years. Every time we've spoken we've hit it off and got on with each other. We ended up both training in Altrincham, Claire's on Coronation Street and she's from Liverpool, so we used to train at the same time together. We got on straight away while we were training for the ice skating. And then when we travelled down to London where the show actually took place we got on even better.
It's amazing [to find] someone you’ve probably known for 25 years. I've been in relationships and she's been in relationships. I've had my kids and she's had her kids. And then 25 years later we found each other. It's quite a nice story. I always knew when I turned up and saw she was going on the ice that she was single and I knew I was single. And I knew how we had gotten so well every time we met each other. I probably thought I had half a chance, yeah. And as it turned out it was yeah.
Would you do a similar show?
I’ll certainly have another look at a show like Dancing on Ice, as I mentioned earlier about my life, it was really bad a few years ago, I was suicidal. By opening up and speaking to somebody my life has turned around. I did my exhibition with Barrera which got a lot of good feedback and it got me back into good shape. My documentary came out on Sky Documentaries and that was up for a BAFTA.
I’ve been inducted into the Hall of Fame and I went on Dancing on Ice and I've met Claire. Even though I'm retired, what you've got to do when you're suffering with mental health is keep yourself busy and give yourself goals and targets and things you want to achieve. And that's what I've done over the last two years. I've got right back into a really good place, so if there was another show I would definitely have a look because even though I was out in the first round I enjoyed it.
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