Who was Ricky Hatton? Pro record, family, career earnings, personal life of boxing great 'The Hitman'

Former boxing world champion Ricky Hatton died in September 2025. He was 46.

A hugely popular fighter who enjoyed a spectacular career, Hatton is one of British boxing's most esteemed figures. He is best remembered for a famous victory over Kostya Tszyu in 2005 and for Las Vegas megafights against all-time greats Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

Hatton later became a trainer and worked worked with heavyweight star Tyson Fury during the early stages of his comeback from depression and addiction issues. He had been due to make a comeback in the ring in December 2025 in an exhibition bout.

Promoted Frank Warren said Hatton "will rightly go down as one of the modern greats of this sport".

MORE: Tributes from Tyson Fury and more for Ricky Hatton

Who was Ricky Hatton?

Ricky Hatton was a professional boxer who competed in the light welterweight and welterweight divisions. 

A former world champion, Hatton boasted a proud career spanning 15 years and took part in an exhibition fight in 2022, a decade after retirement. He was named Fighter of the Year by Ring magazine in 2005, the year of his win over Tszyu for IBF and Ring titles.

Nicknamed "The Hitman", Hatton, from Manchester, England, is widely recognised as one of the finest and most popular British fighters in modern history. His fanbase followed him in their thousands to watch his fights, which included showdowns with Mayweather and Pacquiao in Las Vegas.

Ricky Hatton pro record in boxing

Hatton's pro record stands at 45 wins and three defeats from 48 fights. Thirty-two of his victories came by knockout.

He was unbeaten through his first 43 pro bouts until he lost to Mayweather at the MGM Grand in December 2007. He was defeated by Pacquiao at the same venue in May 2009, then lost to Vyacheslav Senchenko in Manchester in an attempted comeback fight three years later.

Hatton, who turned pro in 1997, was a two-weight world champion, winning titles at light welterweight and welterweight. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2024.

Ricky Hatton mental health, depression battle

Hatton spoke candidly about struggles with poor mental health, both during and after his career. He described how losing to Mayweather in 2007 took him to a dark place and led to alcohol and drug abuse.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4, he revealed: "I tried to kill myself several times. I used to go to the pub, come back and sit there in the dark crying hysterically.

"There were times when I hadn't had a drink for days and I'd still come home and if something went through my mind I'd start pondering something. It was the same outcome whether I was having a drink or wasn't having a drink.

"But in the end, I thought, 'I'll end up drinking myself to death' because I was so miserable. I was coming off the rails with my drinking and that led to drugs. It was like a runaway train."

He later said: "If a boxer can come out and say they're struggling and crying every day, it's going to make a huge difference.

"Having gone through it, I now see it as my job to help those suffering with mental health."

Ricky Hatton career earnings, net worth

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Hatton's personal wealth was around $40 million.

He reportedly earned around $65m through fight purses and bonuses, plus more from various endorsements and commercial deals.

Hatton did a lot of charitable work, most notably for the mental health charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) and Barnabus, a homeless charity based in Manchester.

Ricky Hatton family: Children and Claire Sweeney relationship

Hatton had three children: Campbell, from his relationship with former girlfriend Claire, and Millie and Fearne, from his relationship with ex-fiancée Jennifer Dooley. Campbell, his first child, was a professional boxer with a 14-2 record in professional bouts until he retired this year at the age of 24.

Hatton became a couple with British actress Claire Sweeney after they both appeared on reality series Dancing on Ice in 2024. After they separated towards the end of 2024, Claire was quoted as saying to Mail Online: "We're still friends. We were friends, we dated, and now we're friends again. It's all good."

Hatton had a more fractious relationship with his parents. 

He recalled in his autobiography in 2014 that he was punched by his father, Ray, during an argument. Being estranged from his mother and father caused him profound difficulties, as he explained in an interview with the Manchester Evening News in 2019.

"Ultimately, when I fell out with my parents, I hit rock bottom," he said. "I didn't care whether I lived or died, to be honest with you. A few of my school friends are the same age as me, their parents were having heart attacks, and I was going to their funerals. And I thought to myself: 'I'm 40 now, I'm at an age where our parents might not be here much longer'. So, if their parents are getting ill and passing away and all that, it's not going to be long before mine go. I just made the effort to think: 'Listen, you know, let bygones be bygones, leave things in the past. That's it'."