Campbell Hatton has opened up about the public outpouring of grief following the death of his father, boxing legend Ricky Hatton, saying that while the world lost a champion, he lost “just my dad”. Speaking ahead of a tribute event, the 28-year-old described the funeral as “something else”, with tens of thousands lining Manchester’s streets.
The funeral cortege took three hours to travel from Hyde to Manchester city centre. “We couldn’t see one bit of pavement,” Campbell told BBC Radio Manchester. “We knew how popular he was, but to actually see it was something else.” He added that the family has since been stopped by strangers offering kind words and checking on them.
The Evening4Ricky event will take place on June 7 at Manchester’s AO Arena – a venue his father made a “fortress” during his career. “It’s going to be an emotional night, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a sad one,” Campbell said. “It’s a celebration, and we want plenty going, but most importantly we want to raise awareness of mental health and raise money for the charities.”
Campbell revealed he had his own mental health struggles before his father’s death. “I heard all the time that you should be talking, but getting yourself there is the hard bit. Once you’re there it’s easy, and it helps.” Ricky Hatton had been candid about his battles with mental health, drink and drugs after retiring from boxing in 2012. He was found unresponsive at home in September, and an inquest gave a provisional cause of death of hanging, though the coroner could not be sure he intended to take his own life.
Campbell said that for the family, Grieving has been public. “The world was heartbroken because they’ve lost Ricky Hatton, but he’s just my dad to me. It can be hard for people to see past that sometimes. As a family we’ve not been able to grieve with any privacy.” He added that the support has been a blessing and said he wants to continue his father’s mission of promoting better mental health.
