BOXER Brad Rea has paid a gushing tribute to the late Ricky Hatton – and vowed to fight on to make his mentor proud.
Hatton – Britain’s most beloved fighter – sadly passed away aged just 46 in September – leaving behind an iconic legacy.
@bradrea_Ricky Hatton with a young Brad Rea[/caption]
@bradrea_The two became close friends in later years[/caption]
@bradrea_Hatton mentored Manchester’s Rea[/caption]
Manchester light-heavyweight Rea was inspired to take up boxing by the legendary City fan and the two grew a formidable bond together.
Hatton befriended, coached and mentored Rea up until his sad passing.
Today, on Friday October 10, 2025, Hatton is laid to rest with his funeral at the Manchester Cathedral.
Follow all the latest from Ricky Hatton’s funeral
Rea – who fights Lyndon Arthur on November 1 – is in attendance and opened up on his special bond with the heroic Hitman.
He told SunSport: “I was lucky that I did have a good relationship and we were friends.
“But I think so many people, even people that maybe just met him once, maybe people that just got a picture with him once, seeing him in the pub or whatever, because of the way he was, everyone feels like they have that kind of personal connection with him.
“He was just down to earth and he was just one of us at the end of the day, no matter how big he made it.
“I think that’s why it has affected so many people and everyone does kind of feel like they know him in a way because he was so down to earth.
“So it’s been a tough one for me to take. It’s been a tough one for most of the boxing scene to take.”
Despite becoming inseparable, Rea admits the novelty of Hatton’s presence in his life never wore off.
He said: “It just kind of merged into one. I was with him so much and I’d see him so often and we’d spend so much time together in the gym kind of every day.
“You do kind of forget how big he was, how loved he was, and how many people he had an effect on.
“Then every now and again you’d be out sparring or you’d be walking down a residential street somewhere and you’d go, ‘It’s Ricky.’ You know what I mean?
“It’s not just Rick, this is the Hitman and, yeah every now and again I kind of had to pinch myself a little bit and go, ‘This is Ricky Hatton I’m sat in Nando’s with.’ It was a bit surreal.”
Despite Hatton’s superstardom and unrivalled fanfare – he dreaded ever being looked at as anything other than a working class people’s champion.
Rea said: “He was just one of the boys at the end of the day.
“He was so down to earth and that was why the other side come with it he didn’t think he was better than anyone else.
Hatton became part of Rea’s corner teamRichard Pelham / The Sun
@bradrea_The two celebrate a victory[/caption]
“He didn’t think he was a superstar and I think they probably go hand in hand, kind of just being so down to earth and then still being taken back by all the support.”
Two-weight world champion Hatton would spend 12 hard weeks preparing for his fights – and the rest of his time down the pub with his friends.
Rea was fortunate enough to have socialised with the boxing great – preferring to leave some of their more chaotic tales forever untold.
He beamed: “Oh, there’s so many. There’s so many but all of them I’m just laughing, I’m smiling because it’s just stupid times, rubbish jokes, cracking rubbish jokes.
“I’m lucky that I got multiple different sides of him. I got him as a coach, I had him as part of my team in my corner. I had him as a friend.
“I’ve been to the football with him. I’ve been out for a beer with him, I’ve been on a weekend to Dublin with him, I’ve had all different sides of him.
“I’ve got many memories to kind of look back on. Some stories that I can tell and some I’ll probably keep to myself!”
@bradrea_Hatton and Rea socialised away from boxing[/caption]
@bradrea_Some of their tales will always remain untold[/caption]
Rea was hit with the devastating news just months before his European title defence against Arthur at the Co-Op Live Arena.
And he has since returned to Hatton’s Hyde – where emotions are high.
Rea, 27, said: “I’d not been there for a while. It is a bit surreal. It is a little bit weird.
“Every time I’ve been in there, the majority of the time he’s in there, and he’s cracking jokes, you know, he’s being Rick.
“But at the end of the day there’s me, there’s a load of other lads in there that still got a job to do and he’d be disappointed if we were moping about and we weren’t training.
“He’d want us to get back at it and he want us to crack on and. So you’ve kind of just got to keep cracking on and do what you can to try and make him proud.”
And the best way to make City super-fan Hatton proud? Beat United supporter Arthur – a friend of former sparring partner – in their hometown.
Rea chuckled: “You know what it is? It’s more how we’d react if I let myself get beat by a United fan!
“He would never let me hear the end of it. He would be on my case and I can’t do that to him. I can’t let him down on that front.”
@queensberrypromotionsRea faces Man Utd fan Lyndon Arthur on November 1[/caption]
@bradrea_Arthur and Rea are former sparring partners[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
