The 24-year-old has endured weeks of heartache with his father’s sudden death following the tragic passing of his close friend
Ricky Hatton’s son Campbell has opened up on his late father’s tragic death, admitting his devastated family have been “knocked for six” by the sudden loss.
Former two-weight world boxing champion Hatton was found dead at his Manchester home on September 14, with police not treating the death as suspicious. The 46-year-old had failed to appear at a fight he was due to attend two days prior to his body being found by his manager and close friend Paul Speak.
Tributes soon poured in from across the boxing world, with supporters preparing to honour the Stockport-born fighter when his funeral service take place in Manchester on October 10. Speaking to ITV, Campbell, 24, shared his gratitude to the public for their “outpouring of support” as he addressed the loss publicly for the first time.
“We are absolutely heartbroken,” he said. “It was so unexpected. We had so many plans coming up, so it has knocked us for six, but obviously we are trying to be there for each other. The outpouring of support from absolutely everyone has been amazing, so that’s helping us through a lot, but yes, [we are] absolutely heartbroken.”
Campbell bears a striking resemblance to his father, who affectionately called him his ‘Mini-Me’, and he followed in his footsteps by pursuing a professional boxing career.
He first stepped into the professional ring on the undercard of Alexander Povetkin’s rematch with Dillian Whyte in 2021, securing a victory over Spain’s Jesus Ruiz by points decision. Later that year, he was back in the ring on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk, where he recorded a controversial win over Sonni Martinez.
Campbell went on to secure victories in his first 12 professional bouts, but suffered two consecutive losses to James Flint. The second of those defeats came in October 2024, in what was his final bout before retiring from boxing at 24 in July this year.
In March, he had hired his father as his trainer, but Hatton senior later confirmed that Campbell had hung up his gloves with a 14-2 record to embark on a new career as a solar panel installer.
In a tragic twist, it emerged that Campbell’s decision to retire came after being heavily impacted by the death of one of his closest friends – a loss that was followed just months later by the passing of his own father.
“No, Campbell won’t fight again,” Hatton told Boxing Now when quizzed about his son’s future. “As you know, he didn’t have much amateur experience. He gave it a go in the amateurs, and then he went pro and gave it a go.
“He fought for the Area title and got beaten. I thought he lost it to be fair. But then he fought the same lad straight away after. I thought he won the second one; they were both very close fights. But he lost a little bit of his mojo, and then a few things went wrong.”
On how Campbell had been affected by grief, he said: “He went through a bit for a time, and he was in the gym, and his heart wasn’t in it. I said, ‘Listen son, you should be very proud of yourself, you have given it a go, but if you have lost your mojo, you need to get out’. You can’t play boxing, you can play any other sport. So I advised him, and now he is doing solar panels.”
Tragically, Campbell would face more heartache and grief just weeks later, as he admitted in his interview with ITV that he “can’t get his head around” his father’s sudden death.
“He used to call me his little Mini-Me,” he revealed. “We were identical in so many ways, and I think it’s shown through how close we were and the banter we had with each other. To so many he was Ricky Hatton the boxer, but to me he was just my dad, and to the family, it was Richard. We just can’t get our heads round it at the minute.”