Ricky Hatton Bio

RICKY "The Hitman" Hatton

Full Name: Richard John Hatton
Nickname: The Hitman
Date of Birth: October 6, 1978
Height: 5'6"
Hometown: Manchester, England
Division: Light Welterweight
Record: 45-1 | 32 KOs

Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton, is a two-time IBF and IBO Light Welterweight Champion and former WBA super lightweight and welterweight world champion. Hatton has beaten defending world champions in four of his last five fights. In his boxing career, he lost only once to American, Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Ricky Hatton was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester. He was raised on the Hattersley council estate in Hyde, Greater Manchester. Ricky has a huge, fanatical following in England especially in his hometown of Manchester. Hatton's entrance music is the Manchester City club song "Blue Moon" as performed by the band "Supra." He has been the biggest draw in Great Britain for several years.

Hatton's debut fight was on 10 September 1997 against Colin McAuley in Widnes at Kingsway Leisure Centre. He won it via a knockout in round 1. On 5 June 2005, in what many considered as the breakout year for Hatton, he beat Kostya Tszyu, a widely regarded top pound-for-pound boxers in the world by a technical knockout after the Australian failed to answer the bell for the 12th round. Ricky Hatton was a heavy underdog for this fight, and the victory announced his entry to the upper echelons of the world boxing scene. Prior to the fight the majority of boxing critics had given Hatton little or no chance and this victory was regarded as one of the best victories by an English boxer in the last 20 years. On 26 November 2005 Hatton won the WBA title when he defeated Carlos Maussa in the ninth round of a unification bout. In December, Hatton was named the 2005 Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year.

On January 1, 2007, Ricky Hatton was recognized by the Queen of England in the annual New Year's honors list, and received the title MBE (Member of the British Empire). The ceremony took place at Buckingham Palace, and he will now be known as Ricky Hatton, MBE.

Regarding his nickname, Ricky said, "I've always been a fan of Tommy Hearns, and everybody associates that that's where I got it from, but everybody's a Tommy Hearns fan. I got the nickname the first day I walked in the gym. I was 10 years old and put a pair of gloves on and started walloping the bag, and my amateur coach said, 'Look at him, look how evil he is. He's a little Hitman.'"

Surely, Hatton fans are looking forward to the coming Hatton Pacquiao fight.