Stood in the centre of the AO Arena, Campbell Hatton could barely get his words out as he stared at the thousands who had come to celebrate his father’s life and legacy.
“It was brilliant, a great turnout,” he told the M.E.N of the night before admitting, “a lot of it was difficult but I think it’s important.
“It’s easy for people to sort of shy away from things that bring up those emotions. Especially in grief, it’s important to go through those emotions instead of bottling them up.”
Earlier this year, musicians, comedians, sports stars, and athletes gathered among a legion of fans to say a heartfelt goodbye to Ricky Hatton.
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The Manchester boxing legend who tragically died in September 2025.
The night was Las Vegas themed, a nod to the five times Ricky took on some of the world’s best in the great American boxing city.
Campbell Hatton during Evening4Ricky (Image: Manchester Evening News)
Evening4Ricky featured a reimagined boxing stage with a line-up of artists and performers coming out as part of a series of 12 entertainment ‘rounds’.
The night was for the city to show love to a man who had given it so much. But for Campbell, the moment came at an integral time in his grieving process.
“I think it helped us a lot with our grief,” he said. “It sort of forced us to remember how good some of the times were. It’s easy to forget that a lot.
“I was in two minds going into the event, because I thought as much as it was going to be a great night, like I knew it would be. I thought it was going to be a difficult one.
“I really enjoyed it. I was right, emotions were up and down all the time.
“But just to see the turnout of people there wanting to celebrate my dad’s life helped a lot as a family.”
Campbell Hatton with dad Ricky Hatton(Image: Campbell Hatton (Instagram))
Now the 25-year-old is gearing up for another event held in his father’s name. This time it involves the family’s beloved Manchester City Football Club.
On Sunday, November 15 Campbell will be captaining some of his City heroes for charity football game honouring his father.
Held at the Joie Stadium at the Etihad Campus, Game4Ricky will feature some of the club’s legends like Pablo Zabaleta, Joe Hart, Joleon Lescott, Shaun Goater and Nedum Onuoha.
As well as World Cup finalist William Gallas, England internationals Toni Duggan and Premier League winner Wes Morgan.
“We did Eveing4Ricky a few months ago. It was a lovely day,” he explained. “This is going to be another example of that. My dad loved Man City and he loved Manchester.
“So, for everyone to turn out again and do it with his beloved club, a beloved club for the rest of the family as well, it’s going to be another special day.”
Campbell will be on the same field as his City heroes
The match will see Campbell switch his boxing gloves for football boots and he’s more than ready for it, he says.
Campbell is back in training after announcing his return to the ring at a Misfit’s event back in June.
He’s also been honing his footy skills playing with the ‘nutcases’ at Chappell FC, a Sunday league team from Hyde set up in the memory of Justin Chappell and his dad Alan.
Justin was a popular City fan and close friend of Campbell who suddenly died at just 28-years-old. His dad, Alan, sadly died four days later.
“We’re doing alright, up and down to be fair. We’re a bunch of nutcases at times,” he said about the team.
“I’ve really enjoyed it, doing a few charity matches as well. Scored an absolute worldie on Sunday.
“I got the ball, took someone on, just let it go. Saw the keeper far off his line. Screamer into the top corner!”
And on the prospect of playing with some of his favourite players of all time?
“They were the team I grew up on. I’ll probably be more buzzing about playing with these than the current team to be fair.
“So, I can’t wait and surely you can’t put in a bad performance with them, can ya?”
Game4Ricky will raise money for a number of mental health charities (Image: MCPIX)
The money raised through ticket sales will go towards mental health and suicide prevention charities.
City in the Community, a charity set up by Manchester City, will be the recipient of all donations and will distribute funds to worthy causes.
Campbell added: “Forgetting about my dad’s side of thing, the charities we’re working for are a great cause as well.
“It’s easy to forget we’ve got the Ricky Hatton foundation to try and tackle mental health and get people talking about that.
“We’ve got city in the community doing such great work locally. It’s easy to forget about the important things.
“So doing something like this where we can have a bit of fun but it’s about important issues is a great way to do it.”
Tickets for the event – which are priced from £15 each – have now gone on sale.
You can find more information here.