Her face twisted in anguish, Jennifer Dooley could do nothing but scream as the love of her life, Ricky Hatton, crumpled to the canvas under Manny Pacquiao’s thunderous punch.
It was May 2009, inside the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where the “Hitman” — once Britain’s golden boy of boxing — lay unconscious for three agonising minutes. Jennifer, his devoted fiancée, sobbed uncontrollably, clinging to the arm of her friend Jenna Coyne as medics fought to revive him.
That chilling knockout in the second round shocked the boxing world. But for those closest to Hatton, it marked the beginning of a darker, more painful chapter.
Despite reassurances from his father Ray that his son was “perfectly all right” after hospital checks, the brutal beating raised immediate questions about his health — both physical and emotional. And behind closed doors, those fears soon became reality.
The night everything changed
Jennifer had always been his pillar of support, even giving up her teaching career to stand by him through the highs and lows of the ring. But in Las Vegas that night, as Pacquiao celebrated and cameras captured celebrities like Jack Nicholson, Mariah Carey and Jay-Z ringside, Jennifer was inconsolable. Her Ricky — the boy she’d known since primary school — had been broken in front of the world.
Friends say that the haunting image of Hatton lying flat on his back, motionless under the blinding lights, would stay with Jennifer forever. It wasn’t just the end of a fight. It was the start of Ricky’s long and harrowing descent.
A spiral of despair
In the days and months that followed, the once-charismatic star sank into a world of self-destruction. Away from the adoring crowds, Hatton turned to alcohol, drugs and reckless binges. What began as nights out to numb the pain became years of struggle with depression and addiction.
He spoke openly in later interviews about feeling “lost” after the defeat — how the roar of the crowd was replaced with a deafening silence he couldn’t escape. Jennifer, who had once dreamed of a bright future with him, could only watch helplessly as the man she loved battled inner demons far more dangerous than any opponent he had faced in the ring.
From hero to tragic figure
Hatton’s brutal defeat to Pacquiao cost him more than just a title. It shattered his confidence, his health, and eventually his life outside the ring. Though he tried to rebuild himself through promoting fights and making comebacks, the scars — both physical and emotional — ran too deep.
In later years, Ricky admitted to suicide attempts, cocaine abuse and nights of drinking until he blacked out. The same man who once made Britain proud was now fighting a war within himself, one he could never truly win.
The end of the fight
News of Ricky Hatton’s death has left fans across the globe devastated — but for those who loved him most, it feels like the inevitable conclusion to a battle that began long ago in Las Vegas.
That night, as Jennifer wept and clutched her head in her hands, the world thought they had simply witnessed a shocking knockout. In truth, it was the opening round of Ricky Hatton’s final and most tragic fight: the fight with himself.
