Eddie Hearn has paid a heartfelt and considered tribute to Ricky Hatton, who died aged 46 at the weekend.
Hatton was discovered at 6.45am at home on Sunday having failed to turn up at the gym and a fight he was expected to watch over the weekend. His death is not being treated as suspicious.
The boxing community has been shattered by the news and the Matchroom chairman exclusively spoke to Daily Mail Sport about the British sporting legend.
He said: ‘It’s quite a toxic business and in a toxic business for nobody to have ever said a bad word about Ricky Hatton just shows you what kind of an individual he was.
‘He was the last of a rare breed of boxers and athletes who built their popularity without social media. Not with a content team that will follow him around, just a pure soul with a clean heart that a city fell in love with and then a country fell in love with.
‘He gave all his time to anyone, doesn’t matter if it was a CEO of a broadcast company or guy trying to clean up around here.’
Hearn went on to add that Hatton’s death shows the need to check in with people even when they appear to be happy.
He went on: ‘You see the statement from the family about his bags being packed and going away – people don’t really know what is happening beneath the mask.
‘I feel like there is a real stigma, particularly with men, particularly in businesses like this or who are fighters, it’s not the done thing to show weakness.
‘I feel like there is a real stigma, particularly with men, particularly in businesses like this or who are fighters, it’s not the done thing to show weakness.
‘I know everyone says, you’ve got to talk, but people just don’t they’re afraid to talk or their embarrassed to talk. Ricky was like a beacon of hope to those people and even he didn’t talk all the time.
‘To see a guy that funny, full of life and good around people, that good a role model with that good a heart, not being able to get rid of his demons is so, so sad.’
