Ricky Hatton’s greatest night: How ‘The Hitman’ toppled the legendary Kostya Tszyu

The boxing world was left devastated on Sunday by the news that boxing great Ricky Hatton had been found dead at his home at the age of 46.

Hatton was involved in some of British boxing’s biggest fights as he rose to the top of the sport in the 2000s, with thousands of loyal fans travelling around the globe to support him.

But he also made the MEN Arena, as it was known then, his home, and had his crowning moment at the iconic venue back in June 2005.

Hatton challenged modern-day great Kostya Tszyu for The Ring and IBF super lightweight titles and came out on top in a thrilling battle.

Let’s revisit the greatest night of the Hitman’s career when he upset the odds to triumph in Manchester.

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Ricky Hatton written off

When Hatton took the fight with Tszyu, few gave him a chance. He had compiled an unbeaten 38-0 record but had not fought anyone of the pedigree of pound-for-pound superstar Tszyu.

Tszyu had only lost once in his 32-fight career at the time and had 25 knockouts to his name. He had developed a reputation as a fearsome puncher and the feeling was Hatton’s aggressive, all-action style could prove his undoing.

Tszyu was viewed as one of the best counter-punchers in boxing, having knocked out the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez and Zab Judah, and Hatton was expected to suffer a similar fate.

Fans flocked to Manchester on June 4, 2005, to get behind Hatton, more in hope than expectation, with the bookmakers having Tszyu as a clear favourite.

But Hatton believed he could pull off a shock as he aimed to show he was the best 140lb fighter on the planet.

Late start creates fever-pitch atmosphere

Most main events in the UK start at around 10pm local time. Not this one.

With broadcasters keen for the eyes of the world to be on this fight, the world title clash was pushed back to 2am to capture the US audience.

But there was no struggling to stay awake on this night. The Manchester fans knew Hatton needed them to carry him through on his biggest night and created a raucous atmosphere.

The clock moved into the early hours of Sunday morning and the crowd was only getting louder as Hatton left his dressing room.

Manchester City’s famous anthem ‘Blue Moon’ echoed around the arena as Hatton made his way to the ring for his date with destiny.

Ricky Hatton goes on the front foot

Hatton had worked his way up to world level by going on the attack and rattling off combinations to head and body.

But this approach could risk him walking straight on to one of Tszyu’s trademark knockout blows. Would he tweak his tactics and fight with more caution?

No chance.

Hatton would later explain that he believed his best chance of victory was closing the distance quickly so that he was never right on the end of Tszyu’s punches.

And that’s exactly what he tried to do from the opening bell. Hatton pushed Tszyu back, setting a ferocious pace that would pay dividends as the fight progressed.

Hatton enjoyed early success, but it was far from one-way traffic. Tszyu connected with some hurtful punches of his own that drew gasps from the partisan crowd as they willed their man on.

There was nothing in it as the fight moved towards the halfway mark.

Ricky Hatton takes over

It had been a gruelling first half of the fight, with both men sucking in deep gulps of air in between rounds.

But Hatton looked the slightly fresher man as he tried to find another gear. He still had to be careful, and looked particularly vulnerable at the start of rounds, with Tszyu landing heavy shots in the opening seconds of multiple rounds as Hatton charged forwards off his stool.

But the hometown hero simply would not be denied. He absorbed Tszyu’s best punches and came back for more.

As the rounds ticked by, it was Hatton who had Tszyu up against the ropes. A trio of uppercuts found the target and Hatton’s relentless body work was starting to trouble Tszyu.

There were times when the fight could have taken place in a phone booth as the pair traded punches at close quarters with Hatton edging most exchanges.

The championship rounds arrived and Hatton somehow found enough energy to unleash another assault that wobbled Tszyu in the 11th.

With one round to go, the Brit was closing in on history.

Ricky Hatton ‘rocks the world’

Hatton slumped on his stool at the end of the 11th, gasping for air. His trainer Billy Graham was trying to give him one final pep talk to get him over the finish line, but he had nothing left.

In the opposite corner, Tszyu was not feeling any better. The proud champion had given it everything but failed to put a dent in Hatton, and the 11th round had been a particularly torrid one for him.

Was it worth going back out for more punishment?

After a lengthy discussion in Tszyu’s corner it was decided that he could not continue, and the fight was waved off just before the bell for the final round.

A deafening roar from the crowd, who had lived every moment with Hatton, signalled that their hero had pulled off the seemingly impossible task.

Hatton fell to the floor with exhaustion while Graham hugged him as Sky Sports commentator Ian Darke uttered the immortal words: “Ricky Hatton rocks the world!”

With everything on the line, Hatton had produced the performance of his life to topple the great Tszyu.

Ricky Hatton shows his class

Hatton eventually got back to his feet, while his family and friends hugged each other at ringside.

After 11 rounds of trading blows, there was mutual respect between the two fighters who posed for photos with one another as the official result was confirmed by Jimmy Lennon Jr.

Living up to his reputation as ‘The People’s Champion’, Hatton grabbed the microphone to pay tribute to his adoring fans.

“Manchester, I always said I’d be No 1, and do you know what? You, my loyal fans, deserve it as much as me, we did it together tonight,” Hatton said as he addressed the crowd.

“And I tell you what. There’s only one word for your support tonight and that is legendary. God bless you all.”

Tszyu was magnanimous in defeat, telling the Manchester fans: “Today, Ricky was better than me in every way.

“I have been boxing for 27 years and Ricky, I’m very proud (of you). God bless you. Any help from me, always welcome, mate.”

The crowd rose to applaud Tszyu after his kind words, recognising that they had witnessed greatness.

And they got the result they wanted, with Hatton fighting his heart out to achieve his dream of becoming a world champion in his hometown.

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