Kostya Tszyu has expressed his incredible sadness at the passing of legendary rival Ricky Hatton – with the Australian great reflecting with friends over the past 48 hours about that night their lives changed forever.
An undeniable icon of Great Britain’s boxing scene, Hatton’s untimely death at age 46 has sent shockwaves through the sport – with tributes flooding in from an eclectic group of stars including Manny Pacquiao, David Beckham, Liam Gallagher, Piers Morgan, Conor McGregor, Amir Khan, Manchester City, and Jake Paul.
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While the Englishman is being remembered for a stack of career highlights – and equally unforgettable moments outside the ropes — his undeniable highlight remains upsetting Tszyu for the IBF super lightweight title.
Contested in front of 22,000 raucous Manchester fans, the 2005 headliner wouldn’t only see Tszyu retire on his stool after 11 brutal rounds, or later piss blood backstage in a bucket held by Russell Crowe – but eventually, retire altogether.
Undeniably, the fight remains one of the most memorable in UK boxing history.
With the greatness of Hatton’s moment due, in no small part, to the greatness of Tszyu himself.
Speaking with Fox Sports Australia this week, Kostya’s close friend Glen Jennings confirmed the Hall of Famer – who now lives in Russia – was left feeling “very, very saddened” by the sudden loss of his former rival.
The Fight Life manager, whose stable now includes Kostya’s fighting sons Tim and Nikita, spoke with the Aussie fight great within hours of news breaking and has revealed some of their stories about ‘Hitman’ – who was tragically found inside his Manchester home on Sunday morning.
“Kostya and I have spoken,” Jennings said, “and he’s very, very saddened by Ricky’s passing.
“Ricky Hatton was such a wonderful character.
“And over the years, he and Kostya reconnected several times and remained good friends.
“At the time of their fight, of course, Kostya had been the division’s king.
“But that night in Manchester, Ricky was like a God.Kostya Tszyu with Ricky Hatton after their IBF light welterweight world title bout in 2005.Source: AFP
“I can still remember when he walked to the ring the noise was like nothing I’ve ever experienced.
“Honestly, at ringside we couldn’t even communicate.
“And then inside the ring too, Ricky proved a terror.
“For a young Englishman to go do what he did, it was massive.
“I think if anyone was going to take Kostya Tszyu’s crown, it’s so good it went to a fella like Ricky Hatton.”
Asked his own memories of fight night and Jennings recounted a crazy English crowd that had been boozing for at least six hours by the time of the main event, when Hatton walked out to his signature soundtrack Blue Moon.
“A song,” Jennings said, “which haunted me for years”.
Posting to Instagram on Monday, Kostya’s eldest son Tim also uploaded a picture of the Englishman trading with his famous father, writing: “Rest Easy Ricky Hatton. LEGEND OF THE SPORT!”
Elsewhere, Jennings also revealed a previously untold moment between the two fighters, who would initially reconnect only hours after the fight was finished – and as they were being wheeled by one another inside a Manchester hospital.
“Which was wonderfully poignant,” the manager continued of their world title war.
“I’ve never told this story but Kostya was coming out of a hospital room – still being wheeled on the trolley they’d done his concussion scans on – when somewhere down the hall we started to hear this singing and carrying on.
“(Laughs) And then in comes Ricky Hatton.
“From memory, he was also being wheeled along (in a wheelchair).
“And so that was the moment, just as the sun was coming up outside, with one fighter being wheeled into hospital and one being wheeled out.
“They paused as they rolled passed each other in the corridor, and shook hands …”
Old rivals Kostya Tszyu (left) and Ricky Hatton meet in 2014, the first time since Tszyu was stopped by Hatton in their 2005 bout.Source: News Corp Australia
Better was to come, too.
“We were back at the hotel later that morning, about 10 o’clock, when the front desk calls me to say we have visitors,” Jennings continued. “It was Ricky Hatton and his father Ray …”
So within minutes, Kostya, father Boris, trainer Johnny Lewis and Jennings were all downstairs.
“We spent hours together, too,” the manager continued.
“We had some lunch, a few of the crew had beers, it was a wonderful afternoon.
“Both of them were still really marked up, too.
“I actually took a photo of the pair together which I’ll send you.
“I know Kostya still has the photo and Ricky was also sent a copy.
“It’s of both guys together and you can really see the battle damage on them.
“I remember that whole afternoon.
“Ricky was just being so respectful of Kostya for giving him the opportunity.
“And Kostya, of course, was also incredibly gracious, just as he’d been in the ring afterwards.
“As you’ll remember coming into enemy territory that night, the crowd had booed and booed him.
“But then afterwards, he got the microphone and told them all how he’d come to England to fight their best man, and that their best man had won.
“He described Ricky as the young bull, said England should be proud of him.
“And I can still remember the feeling when they stood and applauded Kostya for about three minutes …”
Ricky Hatton and Kostya Tszyu after their famous fight. Picture: Courtesy of Glen JenningsSource: Supplied
Speaking on the Joe Rogan podcast last year, Hollywood actor Crowe also revealed his own previously untold moment backstage after the fight ended.
Having developed a close friendship with the Aussie fighter, Crowe was among a small crew of people invited into the dressing room afterwards, and recounted how he was holding onto the fighter as he pissed blood into a bucket for 20 minutes.
While the fight is best remembered for an unbreakable Hatton continually walking forward through Tszyu’s punches, it also included several low blows and gritty moments, with Australia’s superstar dropped in the ninth by one particular shot below the belt.
“And Hatton was jacked, man,” Crowe recounted.
“His body was chiselled in a way I’d never seen it before.
“And from my perspective, it looked like he was laying in some shots under the belt, too.
“But, you know, an audience like that in Manchester, which was all about Ricky, they were all for him … he didn’t have a lot of dissenting voices.
“But I was in the dressing room holding Kostya over a bucket while he pissed blood for about 20 minutes after the fight.
“That made me understand what the boxing world really is.”
Rogan also branded Hatton “in his prime, a bad man, a mauler”.
Only three years ago, Jennings crossed paths with Hatton again, when in England for a world title fight between another of his charges, Shannon O’Connell, and Ebanie Bridges.
As part of the build to that bout, O’Connell had spent part of fight week training at Hatton’s gym.
“So we had another great catch up,” Jennings said.
“Even then Ricky was still saying how that Kostya Tszyu win, it was his moment in time.
“He said that night in Manchester … it would always be number one for him.”