Bare knuckle fighter Paulie Malignaggi made his way to the ring on Saturday night with Campbell Hatton, son of late boxing legend Ricky, in tribute to his father.
Ricky tragically took his own life in September last year, with Campbell in the aftermath sharing that the family were taking ‘one day at a time’ after their shocking loss.
Before Hatton’s funeral last year, Campbell shared a poignant tribute to his father by revealing he called his son his ‘mini-Me’. ‘We had so many plans coming up, so it has knocked us for six, but obviously, we are trying to be there for each other,’ Campbell shared. ‘The outpouring of support from absolutely everyone has been amazing, so that’s helping us through a lot – but yes, absolutely heartbroken.’
‘He used to call me his little mini-Me. We were identical in so many ways, and I think it’s shown through how close we were and the banter we had with each other.
‘To so many, he was Ricky Hatton the boxer, but to me, he was just my dad, and to the family, it was Richard. We just can’t get our heads round it at the minute.’
On Saturday night, meanwhile, Italian-American fighter Malignaggi walked arm in arm with Campbell before taking on Rolando Dy for the super-welterweight world title.
Bare knuckle fighter Paulie Malignaggi (right) walked to the ring with Campbell Hatton (left) in honour of father Ricky
Ricky (right), pictured with Campbell, tragically took his own life in September last year
The crowd inside the AO Arena in Manchester, Ricky’s home town, made plenty of noise as the duo walked down the ramp, before stopping to applaud.
It was a chance for Malignaggi to earn silverware in another sport, but looked far from his best against 15-13 MMA fighter Dy, who had previously fought in the UFC.
The 44-year-old was on the back foot from the off, and was dropped in the second round before returning to his feet.
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He was soon hit hard again though, and was pummeled into the ropes, the mat, and unable to get to his feet again and the referee waved off the contest.
Some fans called for the veteran to retire, but Malignaggi and Dy were friendly after the bout and shared a drink together. Malignaggi fought Hatton back in 2008, with the Manchester man winning by 11th round TKO.
Campbell had shared his father’s love of Manchester City, with Ricky having been one of the club’s most famous fans.
His girlfriend Brooke’s father Simon, who is a non-league football manager, had appeared in the 2023 film ‘Hatton’.
He had joined four of Ricky’s close friends, where they spoke of Hatton’s incredible sporting talent and desire from a young age.
Malignaggi and Hatton fought back in 2008, with the Brit coming out on top via TKO
‘You’d be upstairs in the pub and you’d just hear “bang… bang”. “What’s that noise?” Heaton said.
‘It would be Ricky downstairs banging the [punch] bags.’
Heaton had also talked up Hatton’s footballing abilities as a youngster, but he would ultimately pursue and thrive in the boxing ring.
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