Latest editorial
Ricky Hatton (right) strikes Marco Antonio Barrera in the exhibition bout at the AO Arena, Manchester, November 12, 2022
RICKY HATTON’S recent appearance on Simon Jordan’s popular Up Front podcast came as a riveting reminder of his history and legacy as not just an elite-level fighter, whose marauding all-action style made him a fan-favourite, but as a bona fide working-class hero when in his prime.
That prime saw him involved in some of his eras most exciting and pulsating battles inside the ring — against the likes of Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao — and then ultimately his well-publicised deep dive down into the depths of depression and despair.
Adding to the Shakesperean trajectory of this particular story was Ricky’s ill-fated attempt to make a comeback three years after his devastating KO loss to Pacquaio. But if his legion of fans were expecting a Hollywood ending when he faced Ukraine's Vyacheslav Senchenko in front of a full house at the Manchester Arena on that cold November night in 2012, they were fated to go home disappointed.
From Manchester pubs to global arenas, Ricky Hatton embodied working-class pride in and out of the ring, but his last round was fought in solitude, writes JOHN WIGHT
Vilified by the public after defeating Henry Cooper, Joe Bugner’s remarkable career and tragic decline reflected the era’s attitudes as much as the man himself, says JOHN WIGHT
Amid riots, strikes and Thatcher’s Britain, Frank Bruno fought not just for boxing glory, but for a nation desperate for heroes, writes JOHN WIGHT
In recently published book Baddest Man, Mark Kriegel revisits the Faustian pact at the heart of Mike Tyson’s rise and the emotional fallout that followed, writes JOHN WIGHT
