Ricky Hatton was found hanged by his manager at his £1.7million home

Boxing champion Ricky Hatton was found hanged by his manager at home, an inquest has heard.  

The star died at his £1.7million home in Hyde, Greater Manchester on September 14 at the age of just 46.

His body was found ‘unresponsive’ by his long-time manager and friend Paul Speak, who attended today’s brief hearing on behalf of Hatton’s family. 

The hearing, which took less than five minutes, heard that Hatton was last seen alive by family members on September 12.

According to them he had ‘appeared well’ but then Hatton, who lived alone, failed to attend an event he had been expected at the following day.

On the morning of September 14 Mr Speak arrived at the house to take him to Manchester Airport for a flight, the coroner said.

But Hatton was found ‘unresponsive’ with a ‘ligature’ around his neck. 

Mr Speak told Boxing News in the days after Hatton’s death that he thought Hatton had overslept when he could not raise him for the journey to the airport for a flight to Dubai, on the day his body was found.

He said: ‘The lights weren’t on, which I thought was strange. I thought he’d overslept, but it’s not unusual. People do oversleep. 

‘So, I went inside – I have a key – shouting, ‘Rick, Rick, wake up!” heard music coming from upstairs, so I went upstairs. I took a look at him. I had to take some time to process.

‘I was in a state of shock and confusion and loss and many more emotions. Then I called the police and the ambulance.’

Speak said in the interview that Hatton was ‘in a really good place’ before his death and had been preparing to take his daughters to see Oasis the following week, to go to Thailand for a boxing convention and for Christmas in Tenerife. 

His main focus was a fight in Dubai in December against Abu Dhabi’s Eisa Al Dah.

The case was opened and adjourned until March 20 next year, by Alison Mutch, senior coroner for Manchester South.

His provisional cause of death was given as hanging. 

‘I’m going to require the full police file in relation to their investigation and to obtain statements from other witnesses, including Mr Hatton’s GP,’ Ms Mutch added.

Campbell Hatton also paid tribute to his late father Ricky, this morning, he said: ‘It has been very up and down, really, but just as a family, we’re trying to take each day at a time, really.’

Reflecting on the love shown for Ricky at his funeral, Campbell added: ‘He always said he was more proud of his fanbase than all the belts and his titles.

‘Surprised is probably the wrong word because it was obvious how much he was loved by the amount of people that followed him all over the world to watch him box.

‘To actually see everyone in the streets, it was a very long route that we went down, and there was never a point where the streets weren’t full. To actually see it in terms of the amount of people, it was surreal really.’

Stars such as Liam Gallagher, Wayne Rooney and Tyson Fury were among those in the congregation for a private memorial service at Manchester Cathedral.

Tributes were shared by the late boxer’s 24-year-old son Campbell, who followed his father into the boxing ring, as well as his daughters Fearne, 12, and Millie, 13.

The former world champion had revealed his suicidal thoughts and problems with addiction in the past but his family have said he was in a ‘good place’ before his death.

His final post on Instagram showed him keeping fit in the gym ahead of a highly-anticipated return to the ring in December.

The Mancunian also filmed an uplifting video in his final week for a child who was the victim of bullying.

He was due to board a flight to Dubai just a day after his passing to sign a contract confirming his comeback to boxing with a bout against Eisa Al Dah.

However alarms were raised after Hatton failed to show at a boxing event for one of his own fighters that Saturday, with Mr Speak finding his lifeless body the following morning.

Hatton’s manager said: ‘If this was 10 years ago, it wouldn’t have been as big a shock as it was.

‘I’ve been with Ricky to the very highest mountains in boxing to the lowest chasm in life.’