HE was an everyman boxer, affectionately described as ‘The People’s Champion’. The fans sang his name in arenas and packed pubs and living rooms to cheer on the man who walked, talked and drank just like they did.
And yet, for all the adulation, for every punch landed and received in the sporting spotlight, it was often the quiet conversations, away from the cameras, that created such lasting impact.
A month after Ricky Hatton’s death had sent shockwaves across the British sporting world, prompting many eulogies on the positive impacts ‘The Hitman’ had left behind, trainee psychologist and filmmaker Zak Sylvester put out a video on YouTube relaying his own personal experience of the Manchester favourite.
“It’s just awfully tragic news that’s still hard to put into perspective. The scope of my particular article was really about the message that he left with me at the time that I was able to meet him,” Sylvester explains to Boxing News.
The Hatton meeting came about through sport, although Sylvester was over in Thailand in a Mixed Martial Arts capacity, rather than boxing. The 27-year-old had been putting together a documentary about former BAMMA bantamweight world champion Shay Walsh, who underwent a life transition after suffering a career-ending injury.
Having been riding high, good friends with Alexander Volkanovski, Australia’s current UFC champion, Walsh’s dreams and ambitions were cruelly cut short. Now running a successful MMA enterprise in Lancaster, Walsh’s own plight highlighted the often-unnoticed struggles of a high-level sporting professional suddenly forced to accept that they can no longer compete as they once did. Sounds familiar?
Zak Sylvester continues: “Even for some of the biggest stars, after they transition, it’s very easy for the media and the public to kind of forget about them. It happened to be the case for Shay.
“I ended up coming to his community opening day to film. I was going to put together a vlog, but when I sat with the community, and actually went round from the grandparents to the young guys at the gym, and saw the work he was doing, I realised there’s a much bigger story to be told.”
That vlog story became a documentary film that Shay’s gym members could see themselves in. While a glimpse on the big screen and a namecheck in the credits created excitement, Zak built solid relationships with the clientele.
The documentary took Sylvester out to Thailand, where many were based, running Muay Thai and MMA enterprises, mainly through a gym in Phuket. During this time, a boxing legend also happened to be in that part of the world: Ricky Hatton.
“I was just so happy, because I’m also a massive boxing fan and that’s where this story begins,” Sylvester continues, “that’s the context, but what was amazing about the time was, Ricky had this second event afterwards, where there were fewer people, and it was a sit-down, where he gave a speech.
“I may have had a lack of appreciation for his ability to use humour and comedy, and the real, authentic storytelling that he had. I was taken aback by that, because it really spoke to me. From the content that I’d seen of Ricky, I knew he was just so down-to-earth.
“Still, it’s one thing to see a star like that online and another thing to be in his presence. Speaking openly, I did feel the weight of what he was talking about.
“You could still tell that he was dealing with a lot, but perhaps that’s why he was able to communicate his story so clearly. I went over to him at the end and asked him if there was any chance he could leave a quick video for my mate’s mum, who is a massive Ricky Hatton fan, as well as a Man City fan, which he was more than happy to do.”
Hatton’s speech resonated so strongly that Zak was eager to share details of his fledgling plan to build a platform that connects young men with positive role models. Back in February of this year, he hadn’t actually stepped forward and was busy working on it all in the background.
“Ricky told me to just go for it, as you don’t know what’s around the corner. When you’re passionate about something and it’s on your heart, just go for it, which everyone can imagine him saying. I am paraphrasing, but what he was really saying is that life is short, you don’t know what’s going to happen.
“When the news came [of his death on September 14th], I was devastated, because I couldn’t get that conversation out of my head. You cannot play with your ideas; you have to put them out there and make them happen. But it’s so easy to be self-critical, it’s so easy to overthink things, it’s so easy not to take that foot forward.”
Enjoying a great wave of momentum on his projects ever since, Sylvester was the recipient of a nugget of inspiration indicative of the Hatton experience. With such a high-profile reputation and regular day-to-day contact, Ricky was known for remembering names and faces among the masses he encountered.
People routinely stopped him in the streets to speak about the kind of troubles, trials and tribulations they were also going through. When Hatton the boxer led the way during his magnificent peak, thousands followed.
From the 3am Manchester experience that saw him became a true champion, forcing Kostya Tszyu into retirement, to the unforgettable American nights of success and the Mayweather and Pacquiao contests that didn’t go his way, it was a thrilling ride. Multiple “I remember where I was and who I was with” moments were created during the mixture of celebrations and stumbles.
Those stumbles, when they arrived, were public and messy. Everyone knew about Ricky’s greatest achievements, yet they also knew about his darkest moments. These subjects are difficult to discuss. Battles of identity. Coping with life. Once the final bell rings, the arena lights dim and the vociferous fanbase drifts home.
In the lead-up to his death, Hatton was busy preparing for a December date in Saudi Arabia, 13 years after his final, ill-fated dance against Vyacheslav Senchenko. The ability to pivot from the limelight of the ring, cage or pitch into a satisfying “retirement” remains an ongoing struggle.
“Ricky spoke openly about his addiction issues and just navigating that, but I do think that at the core of it, there is this difficulty with finding your identity. In a clip [speaking with former pro Darren Barker shortly before his death], he talks about how happy he was to hear that his story was inspiring others,” adds Sylvester.
“Yet he still didn’t feel enough to be here anymore, so it’s a really heavy thing. I think it can be summarised into a more digestible topic by talking about the ongoing struggle that we all face when it comes to finding ourselves. Even somebody as great as Ricky, who’s inspired me and thousands of people, can still struggle with identity.
“It’s a really good call to action to go and actually do what Ricky was saying, which is start conversations. I always love to try and be as solutions-focused as I can when it comes to these things, because it’s one thing to talk about it, the next thing is to do it, and what Ricky actually encouraged me to do was start this community idea.”
That community is called ‘Take Action Daily’, designed for young men, with a short audio, a word of gratitude and a key question to ponder. The group reflects privately and shares their individual thoughts and feelings. The most recent theme of ‘empathy’ strikes a chord in the light of Hatton’s untimely passing. ‘Inspiration’ or ‘action’ could just as easily apply under these circumstances.
“Ricky made me want to just step forward and make it happen,” Sylvester agrees.
“On the Ricky Hatton Foundation website, they’ve got a mission statement that I would encourage people to go and read.
“One of the points is simply to continue to nurture and build his memory and legacy with his drive to tell people to have that conversation. I hope that I can contribute a small part in keeping the memory and legacy alive of such an inspirational individual.”
