Ricky Hatton has not fought professionally since a short-lived comeback against Vyachslav Senchenko in 2012 but will reportedly step through the ropes once again in Dubai later this year
British boxing icon Ricky Hatton will reportedly come out of retirement for a bout in Dubai later this year. It is claimed the former two-weight world champion will take on Dubai’s first-ever professional boxer Eisa Al Dah on December 2.
Hatton, 46, has not fought professionally since taking on Vyachslav Senchenko in Manchester in 2012, three and a half years after he had hung up his gloves following a defeat by Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas.
The Hitman was stopped in the ninth round by Senchenko and said afterwards: “I needed one more fight to see if I had still got it – and I haven’t. I found out tonight it isn’t there no more.”
But, 13 years on, he will step back into the ring, report The Sun. Hatton was in Cardiff to watch fellow Mancunian legends Oasis make their long-awaited comeback after 16 years on Friday night.
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And having been walked to the ring by Noel and Liam at the height of his boxing career, he will now seemingly embark on a similar return.
Hatton was reportedly due to fly to Dubai this week to launch the fight at a press conference, only to be scuppered by an eye injury suffered at the Oasis gig.
Hatton is one of Britain’s most popular ever fighters, becoming renowned for taking huge swathes of support over to Las Vegas for huge fights against the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Paulie Malignaggi and Pacquiao.
The Brit had a perfect 43-0 record before he took on Mayweather at the MGM Grand in 2007, which was billed as one of the biggest fights in boxing history.
As impressive on the mic as in the ring, Hatton trash talked Mayweather in the build-up to the fight but could not claim victory on the night, being stopped in the 10th round by the pound-for-pound king.
Wins over Juan Lazcano and Malignaggi followed, but Hatton was brutally knocked out by Pacquiao in May 2009 in the second round on what was, for all intents and purposes, his boxing farewell.
But a homecoming at the Manchester Arena followed against Senchenko in November 2012 before an un-scored exhibition bout against Marco Antonio Barrera in 2022.