Ricky Hatton's mother Carol has spoken publicly for the first time about the final conversation she had with her son before his death, revealing a comment that has stayed with her.
Hatton died last year at the age of 46. The former two-weight world champion was preparing for a boxing comeback in a middleweight bout against the United Arab Emirates' Eisa Al Dah, scheduled as an exhibition fight in Dubai in December.
Before he was due to fly to the Middle East, he spoke to his mother.
Final words before Dubai trip
Carol told the Mail: "He was heading off to Dubai and said, 'When I come back on Tuesday, I want to come and have a chat with the old man'. I asked if something was the matter, and all he said was, 'I'm being treated like a cash cow'. He didn't say by who, but it stuck with me."
Hatton's father, Ray, also questioned why the retired star was stepping back into the ring.
He added: "I asked Richard why he was doing it. I said to him, 'If you're doing it for you, fine, just so long as you're not doing it to give everybody around you a jolly boy's outing at your expense'. I think he was doing it for others, if I'm honest."
Concerns over the comeback
His mother raised further concerns, saying "he told people he didn't want to fight. He had been told he needed to fight".
When Hatton's comeback was announced last summer, he spoke with excitement, despite missing the fight announcement due to an eye injury.
"I wish I was there but I had a little bad injury on my eye. The main thing is the fight will take place and I can't wait, I'm really looking forward to it," said Hatton.
"It's just one of them freakish things, I caught one of my sunglasses in my eyes and I'm very fortunate it's not done any permanent damage. It's just scraped the surface, so fingers crossed we're good to go."
