Before he died suddenly at the age of 46, boxing champ Ricky Hatton had a tumultuous journey with his parents, mother Carol, and father Ray Hatton.
In addition to having multiple girlfriends and broken relationships, including with the two mothers of his three children, Hatton had a complicated relationship with his parents.
They mended their decade-long falling out before he died, according to the Manchester Evening News. But then it appeared to break down again in 2023 after a documentary release contained accusations about his dad.
Hatton, a boxing legend, was found dead on September 14 at his home in England, according to a news release from the Greater Manchester police.
Ricky Hatton Fell Out With His Mom & Dad Over Money, Reports Say
(Photo by John Gichigi/Getty Images)
In 2019, Hatton opened up about the feud with his mother and father to the Manchester Evening News. That publication reported that Hatton, his mother Carol and father Ray fell out over money and he and his dad even engaged in an “ugly fight” in a car park.
“Ultimately when I fell out with my parents, I hit rock bottom. I didn’t care whether I lived or died to be honest with you,” he told the site.
The feud lasted a decade before he managed to repair it six years before his death, the news site reported. He was moved to do so by seeing the parents of friends die relatively young.
“A few of my school friends are the same age as me, their parents were having heart attacks and I was going to their funerals”, he told the Manchester newspaper.
“And I thought to myself ‘I’m 40 now, I’m at an age where our parents might not be here much longer.’ So if their parents are getting ill and passing away and all that, it’s not going to be long before mine go,” he added.
According to that publication, Hatton’s life was also rattled by “suicide attempts, and drug and alcohol addiction.”
“Officers were called by a member of the public to attend Bowlacre Road, Hyde, Tameside, at 6:45 a.m. today where they found the body of a 46-year-old man,” Greater Manchester Police wrote in a September 14, 2025, statement.
The Relationship Continued to Have Troubles in Recent Years
Despite the rapprochement, the relationship between Hatton and his parents continued to hit road bumps.
In 2023, “Ricky’s relationship with his family appeared to break down again” after a documentary included accusations against Ray Hatton by Ricky Hatton’s former trainer, Billy Graham, according to Hello!
Carol Hatton shared a letter she wrote with Daily Mail.
“I must’ve rewrote this letter, changed it time and time again, not wanting anyone to think that I was slating my son,” it read.
“Every time I read it, I still get upset because I’m hurting. Me and Ray are on our last lap. Nobody knows what’s around the corner. How would he feel if anything happened to either of us? There’s an old saying, ‘If he can’t come see me when I’m alive, don’t come when I’m dead with your tears.'”
At that time, in 2023, Carol Hatton hadn’t heard from her son for six months, according to Daily Mail. The state of their relationship at the time of Hatton’s death is not clear.
