6 Oct 1978 - 14 Sep 2025 (46 years)

Richard John Hatton, also known by nicknames such as "The Hitman", "The Pride of Hyde" and "the People's Champion", was a British professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2012, and later worked as a boxing promoter and trainer. During his boxing career he held multiple world championships in the light-welterweight division, and one at welterweight. In 2005 he was named Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine, the Boxing Writers Association of America, and ESPN.

After Hatton's career was put on a long hiatus, rumours of a comeback continued to circulate in the media over the next several years. In 2011, Hatton announced his retirement from the sport, but in 2012, more than three years after his last fight, he confirmed his comeback. A loss to Vyacheslav Senchenko in his first match back prompted Hatton to immediately announce his final retirement. He remained retired for 13 years before announcing a comeback in July 2025. Hatton died before he could make his ring return.

Hatton has been lauded as one of the most beloved and popular British boxers of all time, with a raucous fan base that travelled in their tens of thousands across the Atlantic to support him. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2024.

On 6 July 2025, Hatton announced that he was coming out of retirement at the age of 46. The fight was to take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 2 December 2025 against 46-year-old Eisa Al Dah (8–3, 4 KOs). Speaking on the comeback, Hatton said: "I'm very much looking forward to it myself. What you're trying to do there for boxing in Dubai is fantastic. Hopefully this will be a spinoff for more events for you to have over there and hopefully we can get the ball rolling with a bang." The fight was announced via a virtual face-off, as Hatton was unable to travel due to injury. Al Dah, who was also the promoter, had not fought since 2021, when he was stopped by Mexican journeyman Pedro Delgado in the first round.

On 14 September 2025, it was reported that Hatton had been found dead at his home in Gee Cross in Hyde. He was 46. Greater Manchester Police confirmed that his body was discovered following a call from a neighbour, and stated that they were not treating his death as suspicious.

On the afternoon of 14 September, Manchester City and Manchester United observed a minute of appreciation before they played their Premier League game. With Hatton being a City supporter, Phil Foden dedicated their 3–0 win to him, saying that he had "extra motivation going into the game" and "the lads gave everything".

On 29 September Hatton's family announced that his funeral would be held at midday, on 10 October, at Manchester Cathedral. A procession route would also be published.