\u201cOf course I remember,\u201d Billy Graham says quietly as he pushes back his straw trilby to show me his wounded expression. \u201cI can remember everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graham, who trained Ricky Hatton<\/a> for all but the last three of his 48 fights, used to sit with his fighter on the grimy steps outside their first boxing gym in Salford in the late 1990s. It was a more innocent time and, rather than being called The Preacher and The Hitman, they were just Billy and Ricky then.<\/p>\n They were still years away from the mass adulation and the desperately lonely end. But, even when reminiscing, The Preacher can\u2019t escape the fact that, this weekend, it will be exactly three months since his lost friend is thought to have taken his own life at the age of 46. On 14 September, Hatton\u2019s body was found at home, in Hyde, six miles from where we sit now in Mossley, on the outskirts of Manchester.<\/p>\n Billy Graham and Ricky Hatton after victory over Freddie Pendleton in 2001. Photograph: Andy Couldridge\/Action Images\/Reuters<\/p>\n For weeks there was an outpouring of grief and love<\/a> for Hatton in Manchester and boxing. The pain continues, privately, among the fighter\u2019s family<\/a> and friends. But a national story brought a sobering acceptance that such glory and fervour will not return soon to boxing in this country. It is hard to imagine a fighter today being able to conjure up the magic<\/a> which Hatton once created. Tens of thousands of fans, most of whom considered themselves personal friends of The Hitman, followed the wise-cracking, ferocious urchin-faced boxer from Manchester to Las Vegas with roaring joy.<\/p>\n Before then, in mid-December 1999, two years into his pro career, Hatton\u2019s record was a pristine 16\u20110. But, rather than thinking about endorsement deals or pay-per-view sales, the boxer and his trainer had history in mind. \u201cWe sat on the steps all the time,\u201d Graham says. \u201cAll the other fighters had gone and we\u2019d talk about what we were going to do. I told him how good he was and that he\u2019d definitely get in the Hall of Fame.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, 15 months before his death, Hatton was inducted into the International Boxing<\/a> Hall of Fame in Canastota, upstate New York. It completed a 25-year odyssey to reach the pantheon. \u201cYou can\u2019t get better than that,\u201d Graham says. \u201cThere\u2019ve been loads of great fighters who can\u2019t make the Hall of Fame. You can be a \u2018world\u2019 champion or even the undisputed but the Hall of Fame is the ultimate, innit?\u201d<\/p>\n The Preacher covers his eyes as tears slip through his fingers. \u201cCan you get me some tissues?\u201d he mumbles. \u201cI\u2019m not a soft fucker. When I get angry, I don\u2019t cry. But I am now \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n In 2010 Graham took legal action<\/a> against Hatton and his father, Ray, in a dispute over money owed to the trainer. The Hattons settled out of court. Ricky and his parents, meanwhile, became bitterly estranged<\/a> and did not speak to each other for years.<\/p>\n Billy Graham at his home in Manchester. Photograph: Christopher Thomond\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Graham still feels bereft. But he wipes his eyes after I mention a specific bout, in June 2000, when Hatton fought Gilbert Quiros in Detroit. Against Quiros, who was nicknamed The Animal, Hatton was tested like never before. \u201cThat fight was the most important fight of Ricky\u2019s life,\u201d Graham says.<\/p>\n \u201cRicky handled nerves better than any fighter I ever had. But he was agitated because he\u2019d found out his girlfriend was pregnant [with his now 24-year-old son Campbell] and he was cutting weight. We went down to the Kronk [the famous Detroit gym] as I wanted to see Quiros. He looked so dangerous on the bag, like Thomas Hearns. Tall, skinny and every shot he landed was really hard.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody else wore body belts [the protector which Graham used to absorb Hatton\u2019s blows in training] then. I was also wearing ridiculous shorts because I\u2019d forgotten to wash my kit. So everyone was laughing at us. We were the only white guys \u2013 and Ricky was the whitest kid they\u2019d ever seen. I didn\u2019t want to exhaust Ricky but I said: \u2018I want one fantastic round where you show everything and back me up against the ropes.\u2019 They were taking the piss out of us but then, when Ricky started throwing punches, they were whooping: \u2018Wow! Whoa!\u2019 They all fell in love with him.\u201d<\/p>\n Graham shudders. \u201cThe fight was horrendous. Quiros was scary, landing jabs, uppercuts, body shots. But Ricky never panicked, even after a huge cut above his eye. He came back to the corner after the first round and went: \u2018I\u2019ve got double vision and he winded me.\u2019 I said: \u2018You\u2019ve got to back him up because this is drastic.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Hatton tore into Quiros and stopped him with a deadly body shot after a blistering series of combinations. Graham says: \u201cThe natural reaction of any young fighter when cut like that is to back off. It\u2019s not normal to walk straight into the tornado. That\u2019s when I really knew how special Ricky was because he came through a terrible situation. The last doubts were gone.\u201d<\/p>\n Five years later, in June 2005, Hatton reached the summit of his career when he faced the formidable Kostya Tszyu<\/a> at the MEN Arena in Manchester. Hatton had won all 38 of his previous contests but the IBF junior-welterweight title showdown between two driven men was framed by a darkness.<\/p>\n Ricky Hatton fights Kostya Tszyu in Manchester in 2005. \u2018A lot of people didn\u2019t want that fight because Tszyu was so dangerous\u2019. Photograph: John Gichigi\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people didn\u2019t want that fight because Tszyu was so dangerous,\u201d Graham recalls. \u201cBut Ricky was mad for it because he wanted the glory. That was our dream \u2013 to be the best in the world. We knew how good Tszyu was and that his style was really dodgy for Ricky. I was confident but I knew Tszyu could knock him out. I went to his house the day before and said: \u2018Listen Ricky, you\u2019re going to try to break each other, and it\u2019s going to be really hard.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n When Graham was picked up by a car the following night, he was \u201cabsolutely shitting myself. But by the time I got to the dressing room I was completely different. As I walked in, Ricky was shadow boxing in front of the mirror. I started shadow boxing in front of him. Ricky held his nerve like Clint Eastwood in a gunfight.\u201d<\/p>\n Billy and Ricky celebrate in the ring after the victory over Kostya Tszyu, which was a fight that changed both of their lives. Photograph: PA Images\/Alamy<\/p>\n Graham adds: \u201cWhen I was a boxer people used to ask: \u2018Are you looking forward to the fight?\u2019 I\u2019d go: \u2018No, I\u2019m looking forward to getting it over with.\u2019 When it\u2019s over you think: \u2018That was fucking fantastic!\u2019 But it\u2019s horrible until then.\u201d<\/p>\n The intensity, he confirms, was \u201cunbelievable. We all have dreams but it\u2019s very rare they come true. Ours did that night.\u201d<\/p>\n Tszyu was rescued by his corner before the last round. \u201cI turned around and saw what had happened,\u201d Graham says. \u201cI told Ricky: \u2018It\u2019s over. It\u2019s over.\u2019 Oh, the relief on his face. I went: \u2018You fucking did it.\u2019 And Ricky said: \u2018No, we did it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Graham cries silently, his chest heaving. I try to comfort him, telling him that tears are understandable. \u201cNo, they\u2019re not,\u201d the 70-year-old says gruffly. \u201cI\u2019m sick of crying.\u201d<\/p>\n The Preacher believes \u201cthe lunatics took over the asylum\u201d after their momentous victory. Money and fame rolled in and Hatton, needing to feel loved, revelled in the adoration. But he also drank too much and, as his searing focus diluted, the demons gnawed at him. Hatton had eight more fights in four years but they included two cataclysmic knockout defeats by Floyd Mayweather Jr<\/a> and Manny Pacquiao<\/a>.<\/p>\n He slipped into a deep depression, fuelled by alcohol. In 2012, Hatton told me<\/a>: \u201cIt got to a point where I didn\u2019t care if I lived or died. I\u2019d been this working-class hero, this down-to-earth Manchester lad, who people liked so much that 25,000 of them flew to Vegas to watch me fight, singing: \u2018There\u2019s only one Ricky Hatton \u2026\u2019 They ended up with another Ricky Hatton altogether \u2013 a drunk, crying in the corner of a pub. They used to say: \u2018What a fighter! What a cracking lad!\u2019 and then they saw this weeping wreck.\u201d<\/p>\n Manny Pacquiao delivers a devastating second round knockout defeat to Ricky Hatton in 2009. Photograph: Al Bello\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Hatton\u2019s comeback that same year ended in another stoppage defeat to Vyacheslav Senchenko<\/a>, an unheralded Ukrainian. The next dozen years were difficult but his greatest achievements in the ring meant the Hall of Fame came calling in 2024.<\/p>\n Jane Couch, who had defeated the British Boxing of Control in court in 1998 when they refused to grant a professional licence to her or any female fighter, became a hall of famer that same summer. She was a courageous pioneer who suffered enormously from cruel prejudice<\/a>. Hatton was one of her staunchest supporters and they shared their personal struggles.<\/p>\n It was a beautiful ending in boxing for both of them when they travelled to Canastota to be honoured<\/a>. Couch says: \u201cWhen I got the call from the Hall of Fame I was in shock. I sent Rick a message: \u2018We made it.\u2019 Ricky rang me and he went: \u2018I can\u2019t fucking believe it.\u2019 We met at Manchester airport and had a Guinness before we got on the plane to New York. We then had to get a car to Canastota and we had a natter for the next seven hours \u2013 but I\u2019m good at reading people and I knew he wasn\u2019t right.<\/p>\n \u201cA few days later we went for a wander round the grounds of Canastota and he told me the story of him and Billy sitting on the steps of the gym and dreaming of being in the Hall of Fame. I knew they hadn\u2019t spoken much for years but I said: \u2018Should I ring Billy now?\u2019 Ricky was like: \u2018Er \u2026 yeah. Go on.\u2019 I tried but we couldn\u2019t get hold of Billy.<\/p>\n Billy Graham with the retired boxer and close friend of Ricky Hatton, Jane Couch. Photograph: Christopher Thomond\/The Guardian<\/p>\n \u201cI could tell Ricky was agitated and not well. When he had to go on stage in Canastota he turned it into a comedy show because he liked to make everybody laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n A few weeks later Hatton said he had spoken to his old trainer.<\/p>\n \u201cThat never happened,\u201d Graham tells Couch and me.<\/p>\n \u201cRicky was struggling,\u201d the 57-year-old Couch reminds him.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course,\u201d Graham stresses. \u201cI should have been the bigger man. But I couldn\u2019t understand how he was fearless in the ring but would let people manipulate him outside. He couldn\u2019t stand up for himself.\u201d<\/p>\n Hatton tried previously to speak to him and Graham looks mortified. Even when we urge him to think of all he did for Hatton over the years, rather than torturing himself for not calling the fighter in the last few months, he is adamant: \u201cThere\u2019s no way I can stop feeling guilty.\u201d<\/p>\n The day after Hatton died, Graham left a bunch of flowers outside the fighter\u2019s house, with a simple note: \u201cSorry I wasn\u2019t there for you. Love Billy (The Preacher) x.\u201d<\/p>\n Billy Graham\u2019s note and flowers laid outside of Ricky Hatton\u2019s home. Photograph: Danny Lawson\/PA<\/p>\n Earlier that devastating Sunday, Matthew Hatton, Ricky\u2019s brother, was at home when the police arrived. \u201cI immediately knew something was wrong and I think I was the first person they told,\u201d Matthew says at his brother\u2019s old gym in Hyde. \u201cMy wife, Jenna, was out and [their children] Jack and Lola were still in bed. Jenna and I agreed we\u2019d tell them together but Jack came downstairs. I couldn\u2019t talk and so Jack just asked me: \u2018What\u2019s wrong?\u2019 I told him.\u201d<\/p>\n Seventeen-year-old Jack and 13-year-old Lola are both boxers. They were close to their uncle and Matthew says: \u201cWe went on family holidays together to Tenerife. Ricky wanted to be with us and he felt wanted and needed by Jack so they had a great relationship. Ricky was a coach so he also saw that Jack had plenty of boxing ability.\u201d<\/p>\n Reflecting on how his family has coped these past three months, Matthew believes \u201cthe boxing has been a distraction because, after a break, Jack and Lola have done so well. We speak about him every day and, while it\u2019s easy to get down, people\u2019s stories about Richard have helped us so much.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s still like a bad dream \u2013 even though he\u2019s so well thought of round here you see pictures of him wherever you go. For two weeks I didn\u2019t leave the house much or answer my phone. I only went to see Mum and Dad, Campbell and the family. But I started drifting back into the gym because people depend on me. My own kids need me and they\u2019ve kept me busy.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthew, who is 44, was good enough to face Canelo \u00c1lvarez<\/a> in a WBC world title fight in 2011. But he was different to his big brother. \u201cRick liked being in the spotlight but, as we get older, we fade away and he\u2019d have hated that. He had a big soul and his problems with alcohol \u2013 but Ricky crammed more into his life than some people would cram into three lives.\u201d<\/p>\n Hope surges through the gym where Jack and Lola are as thoughtful as they are confident. When I ask them to describe Ricky, Lola says, \u201cI never saw him as a legend like the world did. He was just our uncle and we\u2019d go around for tea and on holidays together. I\u2019d describe him as loving and funny.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack nods. \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t think he was this big, famous person<\/a> from the way he acted. He were just funny, down\u2011to-earth and caring.\u201d<\/p>\n Ricky loved the fact that Jack and Lola were boxers. \u201cDefinitely,\u201d Jack says. \u201cHe was my uncle but on other days he\u2019d be my coach. We miss him a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthew Hatton with his teenage children Lola and Jack, who are both boxers following in the footsteps of their father and their uncle. Photograph: Christopher Thomond\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Do they watch his fights? \u201cYes,\u201d Lola exclaims. \u201cI remember watching the Kostya Tszyu fight and he was such an entertaining fighter. He was on the front foot constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n Lola has won eight out of 10 bouts and her two narrow losses came against a girl on the England team. \u201cShe was good,\u201d Matthew says, \u201cbut we thought Lola possibly won the last one.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNext time,\u201d a determined Lola says. Her immediate aim is to box for England while Jack dreams of fighting professionally. He has won three national titles, the most recent being last month<\/a>, and 43 of 48 fights.<\/p>\n \u201cJack asked me to do the amateur badges so I could go in his corner and it\u2019s gone extremely well,\u201d Matthew says. \u201cHe\u2019s had 18 fights and won them all since I\u2019ve started working his corner. But I\u2019d be a liar if I said I didn\u2019t get nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n How does Lola feel when watching her brother? \u201cIf he\u2019s fighting someone good, I\u2019m a bit nervous. But I don\u2019t doubt him. He always wins.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI like that answer,\u201d Jack says with a grin.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were on holiday in Tenerife,\u201d their father remembers, \u201cand someone wanted a picture of Jack as he\u2019s quite well-known already. I started laughing when Lola said: \u2018I want some of this.\u2019 We\u2019ve never really encouraged the boxing. But we\u2019re a sporting family, with my boxing background and their mum swam for Great Britain. Jack used to tell me he hated boxing. I thought: \u2018Yeah!\u2019 But we started doing a little in lockdown to keep fit. He got into it and then joined an amateur gym. Lola\u2019s interest started when she saw how well Jack was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if they feel the weight of the Hatton name, Jack and Lola answer sensibly by stressing that they can just do their best. \u201cRicky was such a fantastic fighter and character that I suffered criticism in my career,\u201d Matthew says. \u201cYou get great opportunities but with it comes pressure. At first I didn\u2019t want them to box because of that pressure but, now they\u2019re doing it, they\u2019re going to do it properly. I\u2019m quite tough because people always perform better against them. They want that Hatton name on their record. That\u2019s got to push these two on in difficult moments. But they really embrace it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Jack won his latest national title we took a coach [of supporters] and everyone enjoyed it. People are itching to get behind Jack. It will be the same with Lola. I think there are going to be some really good nights ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n Ricky Hatton at the Mottram and Hattersley ABC boxing gym in 1999. Photograph: John Gichigi\/Getty Images<\/p>\n There was a special night last month as, on his way to that title as National Boys club champion in the 57kg division, Jack won two fights in Fleetwood, Couch\u2019s home town. Couch, who organised the show, says: \u201cIt seemed fitting for Ricky that we were all together \u2013 Matthew, Jack, Lola, me and Billy.\u201d<\/p>\n Graham trained Matthew for a considerable period. And Couch, who headed Hatton Promotions for a spell, helped promote Matthew to the European welterweight title in 2010. \u201cI love Matthew,\u201d she says. \u201cHe\u2019s such a good guy and went straight over to Billy. They shook hands, hugged and had a good conversation. Then Jack and Lola met Billy. It was beautiful and Billy told Jack his body shots reminded him of [the light-heavyweight] Callum Smith. I loved seeing Billy look happy again.\u201d<\/p>\n The Preacher smiles. \u201cIt was great. Jack and Lola were fantastic and I was proud they wanted photographs with me.\u201d<\/p>\n As the sadness ebbs a little I ask Couch how she will remember Ricky. \u201cAs my friend,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Couch plays me the last voicemail he sent her. The boxer\u2019s familiar voice echoes from her phone and, after a rambling but grateful message to his old pal, Ricky Hatton<\/a> says a last few words: \u201cHope you\u2019re all right, sweetheart. See you soon.\u201d<\/p>\n In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans<\/a> can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org<\/a> or jo@samaritans.ie<\/a>. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline<\/a> on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org<\/a>, or text HOME<\/a> to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline<\/a> is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n