Olivia Burke
Ricky Hatton's younger brother Matthew has told how the boxing legend's death feels 'like a bad dream'.
The sporting world was rocked on 14 September after news broke that the 46-year-old star had sadly been found dead at his home in Gee Cross, Hyde.
Thousands of fans lined the streets of Greater Manchester to pay their respects to the late father-of-three earlier this month as his funeral procession passed through his home city.
An inquest then heard how Hatton tragically took his own life. His brother Matthew Hatton, 44, has now spoken out for the first time since the boxer's death, explaining he doesn't believe the loss has fully hit him yet.
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Describing his late brother as his 'best friend', the former European welterweight told ITV: "I think when it first happened I was absolutely, totally shocked and I'll be honest for the first few weeks... I just couldn't answer my phone.
"I couldn't speak to people. It felt almost like a bad dream. Has it hit me yet fully? Probably not."
The pair spent countless hours in the gym together while growing up, and Matthew went on to fight on the undercard of many of Ricky's high-profile clashes during their professional careers.
"We were inseparable, we were best friends," he said. "When I think back to the Vegas days, we needed each other.
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"Boxing is a tough, lonely game but we did it together. The best time of my life and the best time of his life, I feel fortunate we did them together. "
He described Ricky's death as a 'total shock', explaining 'The Hitman' had been on top form while training for his scheduled comeback to the ring in December.
Ricky was set to face Eisa Al Dah, 46, in a middleweight face-off in Dubai, more than a decade after he retired.
"Genuinely, this year it's the best he's ever been by a long, long way," Matthew said. "He's had his problems since he stopped boxing, that's been well documented, but this is undoubtedly the best we've ever seen him.
"So it really was a shock."
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Matthew said that he always 'worried' about the former world champion, who was known for openly discussing his mental health struggles.
"A lot of the time he spoke about things that happened years ago, and didn't really seem to have a vision for the future and that always worried me," the father-of-two said. "He was always so busy, so he didn't [reach out], but I know he was speaking to professionals.
"Ricky loved being around people, he loved being in the limelight. He lived his life the way he lived it.
"He didn't get ill, he didn't fade into the background or grow old where we all get a little bit less relevant. He would have absolutely hated that."
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