Coroner says it’s unclear Ricky Hatton intended to take his life

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 23: Former boxing world champion Ricky Hatton during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD3 match between Manchester City and AC Sparta Praha at City of Manchester Stadium on October 23, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images) | Getty Images The boxing world was saddened by the news of Ricky Hatton’s untimely death late last year, and even months later it’s not entirely clear what specifically led to unfortunate situation. A formal inquest inquest into his passing has the coroner stating that it’s unclear that Hatton intended to kill himself given that he appeared to be in a normal state shortly before he was found dead by his manager inside his home.

Hatton, 46, was on the verge of making a comeback to the ring in an exhibition fight in Dubai that he was really looking forward to by all accounts, but he never showed up to an engagement for the event which eventually led to his manager finding him, with an official ruling of death by hanging. Blood tests show that Hatton had significant blood alcohol levels at the time of his death along with traces that indicated prior usage of cocaine and marijuana, but perhaps even more significant was the fact that Hatton was found to suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy as evidenced by brain damage revealed in a postmortem examination. No notes or any other signs would be found that indicated that Hatton had planned to take his own life , and the senior coroner indicated that she therefore couldn’t legally conclude the death as a ‘suicide’.

“He had made significant future plans and no notes were found indicating he intended to take his own life…His intention remains unclear as he was under the influence of alcohol and the neuropathological postmortem found evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and that’s the conclusion I draw. ” Hatton will be remembered as one of Great Britian’s biggest boxing stars.