Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
RICKY HAS KO’D DEMONS
Hatton Jr: Dad can’t wait to go toe-to-toe with Barrera
RICKY HATTON’S son claims the Hitman’s exhibition fight with Marco Antonio Barrera has helped him keep his mental demons in check.
Hatton struggled badly with depression following his defeats to Floyd Mayweather Jr in
2007, and Manny Pacquiao two years later, and says he contemplated suicide several times.
The former two-weight world champion is much happier now and his son, Campbell (right), says training for his eight-round exhibition bout with Barrera has been hugely positive for him.
Hatton, 44, faces the legendary Barrera, 48, tonight in his old fortress of Manchester’s AO Arena in his first contest since he retired a decade ago.
Campbell said: “I know how good a feeling it is having your hand raised after you’ve boxed and won, and I can only imagine how much he missed that after retiring.
“If he can get that feeling back, without the pressures of the professional game, then that can only be good for him.
“You can see how he is, his state of mind, he’s got his motivation back, he’s living well and he’s trained for this for months.”
Hatton has lost four stone and given up alcohol during camp, and hopes he can inspire others who are struggling with mental health issues. “The whole purpose was to set myself a goal for this exhibition, to get in shape and inspire so many people,” he said.
“I haven’t even set foot in the ring yet but the letters, comments from people who’ve struggled with weight, struggled with mental health, they’ve said, ‘Wow, what you’ve been through and you can still shift all that weight at 44 years of age’. That’s what it’s all about for me, just as much as throwing the punches.
“‘Ricky Fatton’ is a thing of the past.”
Even though the fight will not be scored, Campbell says his dad will still want to come out on top because he is so competitive.
The 21-year-old, who is 9-0-0 in his own pro career, experienced that first hand when they sparred.
“We had a right couple of wars and I was impressed how his gas was,” he said. “I’m looking forward to Saturday. I don’t think they’ll be holding much back and we know they’re both warriors.”
Hatton manages Campbell, who enjoyed his ninth win over Czech Denis Bartos in Abu Dhabi last Saturday, and hopes to fight for his first title next year.
“People are getting to know me as myself now,” he said.