Freddie Flintoff has paid tribute to Ricky Hatton and spoken about the ‘guilt’ he feels over the late boxer’s death.
On Piers Morgan Uncensored, he gave an emotional interview and said: “There’s almost a guilt… How people didn’t know? And the one thing I found in recent years, over the past few years, it’s happened to more and more people.
“With Graham Thorpe in cricket who [was an] absolute great man, someone who is thought of so dearly by everyone who played with and everyone he’s coached. You just feel like, if only we would have known. But you know it’s terrible.”
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Piers Uncensored)
He also added that Ricky’s death hit “quite close to home”, as they’ve known each other for years. “It’s quite close to home in a lot of ways. Ricky, one of the great men, you know, I met him years ago.
“We did a thing for Sky Sports and I went on the pads and he started hitting me and I was a fan as well… He’s charming, he’s funny, our careers run parallel with each other at the height, at the same time. I went to his fights… We had nights out in the Press Club in Manchester and we’ve sung karaoke together and I never knew all these things that he was struggling with until we sat down.”
Freddie added that when they started talking, Ricky was very honest about his mental health and the cricketeer could “relate” to that. “When we started talking, obviously, he was so honest about what he had been going through and what he felt. And then, as he was talking, I was, like, relating to it. I’ve felt like that, that’s what I’ve been like. Then it just turned into a chat about two blokes being really honest. I suppose that documentary changed and I wasn’t going to give as much away about myself but then felt obliged to actually if he’s doing this.”
“He’s this working class hero from Manchester who goes into the ring, he fights, all heart. He’s funny. You see him like doing stand up routines at press conferences and he feels like this. And then obviously what’s happened over the past two weeks, it’s been devastating. For obviously his friends, his family but anyone who has been in contact with Ricky.”
An inquest was opened into Ricky’s death opened with coroner Alison Mutch telling the court Hatton was found unresponsive in his bedroom by Mr Speak, who was due to accompany the fighter to Dubai the same day for a press conference to officially announce his comeback fight.
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PA)
Police coroner’s officer Alison Catlow told the court Hatton lived alone and was last seen by his family on September 12, when he ‘appeared well’. Hatton did not show up to a scheduled event the following day before But Mr Speak found him “unresponsive” on Sunday, September 14.
A post-mortem examination was carried out and although the full results are not yet known, a provisional cause of death was given as ‘hanging’. A full inquest will take place on March 20.
Last week, thousands of mourners lined the streets for Ricky’s private memorial service. It was attended by Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, Wayne Rooney, Tyson Fury and Freddie himself.
Following his death, his family gave an emotional statement that read: “Richard was so much more than a world champion. To us he was simply ‘Richard’, our son. A loving father, grandfather and brother, and a true friend to many. He had a heart as big as his smile and his kindness, humour and loyalty touched everyone who was lucky enough to know him.”
Watch Freddie’s full interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, YouTube on today
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Source: Mirror
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