There isn’t much that brings the red and blue halves of Manchester together, but for a spell, Ricky Hatton was able to unite the city’s football clubs in supporting him.
The legendary boxer is famously a Manchester City fan, entering the ring to the tune of club anthem Blue Moon, but still had representatives of Manchester United in his corner throughout his impressive career.
Hatton went unbeaten for 43 professional fights from 1997 to 2007 before finally being bested by Floyd Mayweather Junior, eventually hanging up his gloves with a hugely impressive 45-3 record.
Ricky Hatton: 'Sir Alex Ferguson was a class act'
In the latest edition of FourFourTwo magazine, Hatton said: “I was lucky enough for lots of players to come and see my fights, from both the blue and the red sides of Manchester.
“It kind of brought the city together. Paul Dickov, Micah Richards and Nicky Weaver would all be regulars, and Michael Carrick, Nicky Butt and Wayne Rooney from United.
“I had incredible support from Manchester in general. I also used to get a phone call from Sir Alex Ferguson before big fights, wishing me good luck from himself and the team, which was a class act.”
Hatton even invited a young Rooney to carry his belts to the ring for him in 2007 insisting that he never got any direct backlash to the decision to have a then-Manchester United player accompany him into his light-welterweight defence against Jose Luis Castillo in Las Vegas – the final match of his unbeaten run.
That is somewhat in conflict with reports at the time that some City fans had very pettily decided not to attend the fight as a result – not that Hatton particularly cared.
Asked if he had ever had any direct stick, Hatton told us: “I don’t think I did, actually – perhaps in small quarters or down certain pubs, but I never had anyone come up to my face and say so.” I mean, they wouldn’t, Ricky, would they?
“I’ve always liked Wayne. He is no-nonsense and has no airs and graces. He played football with his heart on his sleeve and I like to think that I boxed in that fashion as well.”
To date there is no evidence that Lee Bardsley has ever beaten Hatton at an impromptu living room boxing match, though.
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