A long time has passed since Ricky Hatton retired - four years to be exact - but The Hitman is still thought of as one of the most popular British boxers ever.
The former champ officially hung up his gloves back in 2012 after a comeback fight against Vyacheslav Senchenko, following his initial retirement in 2011, didn't go to plan. However, on this birthday, it's best to remember why Ricky was so loved by British boxing fans and his defining moment as a fighter.
A lot of people will remember Ricky's bouts with the likes of Floyd 'Money' Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas, as the two fights were mega on the media scale, and were spectacles. Although the two were massive events, which unfortunately ended in losses for The Hitman, neither could really be considered as his defining fight.
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Born and raised in Stockport, Hatton's defining fight came at the MEN Arena in 2005, in front of 20,000 adoring fans. Fighting the lesser known Kostya Tszyu, Hatton was competing in his beloved city of Manchester, entering the ring as the underdog.
At the time, Tszyu was the number two ranked pound-for-pound boxer, but The Hitman's come-forward, powerful approach proved too much for the Russian-Australian.
"Once you had achieved Mount Everest, you have to really try and psyche yourself up to get going again," Hatton told The Daily Telegraph on the tenth anniversary of the bout. "I achieved Everest with that Tszyu fight. You have to psyche yourself up that little bit more to get out of bed in the morning."
Two days after Ricky had competed in a local pub darts league (what a lad) he won the fight, with Tszyu throwing in the towel while sitting on his stool after the 11th round. Hatton had thrown an onslaught of attacks throughout the fight which gassed out his opponent. When the realisation came that Hatton had won, he fell to the ground in celebration, as the MEN Arena exploded.
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He told the Telegraph: "It's not often a fighter like that comes to Britain, let alone Manchester to fight a Mancunian. It was in my hometown in front of 20,000 and the fight was absolute war.
"If I'd have knocked Kostya out it wouldn't have been any better than him quitting on his stool. For someone like that to stop on his stool said a lot. He's not a quitter, he just had had enough. He didn't want any more."
Hatton was crowned the IBF Light-Welter Weight Champion following the victory. It was an outcome that would have been worth a bet, as bookies had him down at long odds to win.
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"They were talking about it being one of the biggest wins in a British ring if I'd managed to pull it off," he said. "I was a massive underdog. I think I started at about 6/1."
Winning gold, in front of the people of your home town? It doesn't get much better than that.
Happy birthday, Ricky.
Featured image credit: PA
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