Ricky Hatton: Boxing legend on reaching rock bottom, incredible weight transformation and ring return

Eight months ago, Ricky Hatton was 15st 4lbs, drinking each weekend, indulging successful excessively galore takeaways and neglecting his health.

Then helium got a telephone asking if helium would beryllium funny successful taking portion successful an accumulation combat with an aged rival turned bully person - erstwhile three-weight satellite champion Marco Antonio Barrera, present 48, astatine the AO Arena successful Manchester.

He jumped astatine the opportunity, seeing it arsenic a accidental to assistance people's spirits, and his own.

"It was a precise casual determination to maine to make," says Hatton, present 44.

"The full intent was to acceptable myself a extremity for this exhibition, to get successful signifier and animate truthful galore people.

"I haven't adjacent acceptable ft successful the ringing yet but the letters, comments of radical who've struggled with weight, struggled with intelligence wellness person said: 'Wow, if you tin bash it, what you've been done and displacement each that value astatine 44 years of age?'

"That's what it's each astir for me, conscionable arsenic overmuch arsenic throwing the punches."

Hatton past fought successful 2012 erstwhile helium was beaten by Ukraine's Vyacheslav Senchenko

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The bout was primitively scheduled for July but an wounded to Hughie Fury - who was warring connected the aforesaid measure - delayed it until this Saturday.

The accumulation against Mexico's Barrera volition not number towards Hatton's 45-3 nonrecreational grounds and volition beryllium 8 two-minute rounds, with nary authoritative victor oregon loser declared.

The erstwhile welterweight and light-welterweight satellite champion admits his household did not instantly instrumentality to the idea.

They had seen however debased helium became aft losing to Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao successful 2007 and 2009. Those defeats near him profoundly depressed and led to the darkest times of his life.

There were besides those who didn't judge helium could displacement the weight, aft past warring professionally successful 2012, a nonaccomplishment to Ukraine's Vyacheslav Senchenko.

"I could perceive small whispers successful astir the pub and successful astir wherever I was. 'Hear what helium said there? He thinks he's going to person different accumulation combat again.' And you cognize I ever loved proving radical wrong," helium says.

Hatton did suffer the weight. He began a strict fare made up of 400-calorie prep meals and macromolecule shakes, on with his ain grooming regime.

He shed 2 chromatic by the archetypal combat day but the postponement gave him 4 other months to bid and present successful combat week successful November helium weighs conscionable 11st 6lbs - 4 chromatic mislaid successful full and appearing arsenic a changed man.

"Ricky Fatton is simply a happening of the past now. This is the caller Ricky," helium adds.

It's each astir "showing willpower", according to Hatton. He hasn't been capable to footwear his beverage addiction, but is down from 8 to 2 a time - 1 successful the greeting and 1 astatine tea-time - and has stopped drinking intoxicant wholly during his grooming camp.

His translation has been truthful aggravated that his parents and loved ones person travel circular to the thought of him warring again. They saw him astatine stone bottommost and Hatton's tendency to stock this communicative is simply a large portion of his instrumentality to the ring.

After his knockout decision by Pacquiao successful 2009 helium knew his vocation was over, contempt the short-lived comeback successful 2012.

"I had nary boxing. My vocation was over. I'd fallen retired with my parents. I'd fallen retired with my trainer Billy Graham. That's erstwhile it got to stone bottom," helium says.

"I conscionable went retired connected the warpath. I was suicidal. It was horrible for radical to see.

"So that's erstwhile radical crook astir and say, 'Aw, wherefore are you doing this exhibition?' If you could person seen maine backmost successful that period, you'll cognize precisely wherefore I'm here. And you wouldn't adjacent question it."

Hatton turned 44 successful October portion Barrera (left) is 48

The Briton is 1 of a big of erstwhile pros competing successful exhibitions. His aged rival Mayweather has made millions successful caller years popularising stripped-back contests for the masses.

Hatton volition combat for the 19th clip successful his hometown of Manchester. The Stockport-born fighter, who grew up successful Hyde, is unfastened to the thought of taking connected idiosyncratic similar Mayweather successful the future, but holds backmost from definitively calling retired his erstwhile opponent.

"I deliberation my family, my loved ones and parents could see, everyone from my boxers successful the gym to my kids and grandkids was getting a amended Ricky Hatton due to the fact that I was successful specified a bully spot and had thing to strive for," helium says.

"In the extremity my parents, my loved ones, person said it's the champion happening I've done due to the fact that they've seen what Ricky Hatton's got retired of it.

"We'll get successful there, bash the business, enactment connected a bully amusement and if different comes up [we'll see].

"What it's done for maine arsenic a person, mentally, physically, there's thing antagonistic that's travel from it. I cognize I'm 44 years of property and I cognize if I bash different one, I cognize these aren't going to spell connected forever."

• For accusation and enactment connected intelligence wellness and suicide, entree the BBC Action Line.