Meeting Ricky Hatton: A Writer’s Remembrance

After an exciting, albeit one-sided, fight between two of the sport’s titans, Canelo Álvarez and Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford on Saturday night, I woke up early Sunday morning to catch the end of Naoya Inoue’s masterful performance. The boxing world seemed to be buzzing with great fights and even greater fighters.

But as is often the case, the sweet science can be a cruel sport. As my wife and I were having our Sunday coffee, I learned about the untimely passing of Ricky Hatton. Tributes to a legend will pour in, and many will be better written and by people who were more closely associated with him than this one. However, I felt compelled to share a personal interaction that will stay with me forever.

Meeting Ricky Hatton

Ricky Hatton on stage at the International Boxing Hall of Fame with fellow Class of 2024 inductee Jim Lampley. Photo: Kelly Pomara

In 2024, my wife and I had the chance to attend the International Boxing Hall of Fame induction weekend, an absolute must for any true boxing fan. We met Ricky after a ringside talk that was part boxing history, part stand-up comedy. It was like watching a professional comedian weave tales of his ring exploits and, more often, the trouble he found himself in outside the ropes.

He shared a memorable story about battling a hangover and accosting Kostya Tszyu when he was coming up, telling him that one day they would meet in the ring.

As a boxing writer from New York, my first question for him was a local debate often heard in gyms across the city and Long Island. Having fought both, he was the right source to answer. Who was the better fighter: Paulie Malignaggi or Luis Collazo?

You could tell Hatton really enjoyed the question. The majority of the questions he was getting from the press and the fans were about Manny Pacquiao (more on that later) and Floyd Mayweather.

He took the time to answer it with deliberate pause, but only after making me promise not to tell the answer to either fighter, sharing they were both “exceptional fighters” and calling them both “lovely guys” whose feelings he wouldn’t want to hurt. That is a promise I will respect and a story I will not put into writing.

Having A Pint With Hatton

Writer Matthew Pomara asks Ricky Hatton a question during Hall of Fame Weekend in 2024. Photo: Kelly Pomara

Later that evening at the center bar in Turning Stone, we had the chance to have a pint with him. Despite being hounded for autographs all weekend and several people surrounding him, he sought me out. He remembered my question and expanded on his answer, and his willingness to give me more of his time meant a great deal. He was incredibly funny and had me laughing out loud at some points.

I told him I’d met Miguel Cotto earlier in the day. Cotto was standing almost in the exact same spot, a fighter I always wanted to see him face. His next question was something I was not prepared for. He asked if I would have rooted against him, a question that made me laugh and I was caught off guard.

He then called me a name that, if I wrote it here, would get me fired from NY Fights. We both laughed again. (EDITOR’S NOTE: It would take more than that, Matthew. Wear it as a badge of honor from the Hitman!)

He shared that he would have loved to fight Cotto, but his dream was always to fight Manny Pacquiao. Something he shared he never got to do. I looked puzzled, and finally had to say, “You did fight him?”

“I did? How did I do, I guess I didn’t do too well,” he said in his humorous British accent. I must have made a grave face, because he laughed again and he realized he had gotten me before moving on.

He was a wonderful person, and even though that was my only interaction with him, I know I will miss him.

God Bless “The Hitman.”