Ricky Hatton has already lost a lot of weight and pulled off an impressive body transformation ahead of his upcoming return to the ring.
The British boxing legend is set to step back between the ropes again for an exhibition bout with Marco Antonio Barrera on July 2 in Manchester.
Ricky Hatton – Instagram
Hatton already looks much slimmer
Hatton announced his fight last month, surprising many in the boxing world.
During his career, the “Hitman” was famous for gaining weight between fights.
Since his retirement, of course, he no longer needs to gain weight at all and thus enjoys life with a heavier physique.
As a result, many wondered if he would now be able to lose weight again after a decade of not having to.
With more than a month to go until fight night, Hatton has already proven those doubters wrong.
In new training images posted to his social media, the 43-year-old looks younger in a slimmed down frame.
Getty
Hatton has been retired for ten years
Hatton will return to his beloved Manchester Arena to face Barrera ten years after retiring for good following his loss to Vyacheslav Senchenko in 2012.
He enjoyed unprecedented fan support in the UK, and particularly at home in Manchester, at the height of his career.
The two-weight world champion unified the titles at welterweight (140 pounds) and also won a belt at welterweight (147 pounds).
However, he failed in his fights with the great generations Floyd Mayweather, in 2007, and Manny Pacquiao, in 2009.
Hatton initially left the sport after the loss to Pacquiao, only to announce a shock comeback three years later which resulted in his loss to Senchenko.
It will be almost ten years since that night the ‘Hitman’ returns to Manchester Arena on July 2 to box Barrera in their exhibition.
Getty Images – Getty
Hatton and Mayweather locked horns on December 8, 2007 in Las Vegas
Campbell Hatton, Ricky’s son, spoke to talkSPORT.com six months ago about a potential return for his father.
“He’s always training, so you never know what he’s going to do,” Campbell said at the time.
“He could try his luck. He should go on a diet, right?
It seems that is exactly what he did.
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Boxing on talkSPORT
Visit YouTube for more talkSPORT boxing content where you’ll find exclusive interviews with Tyson Fury, Eddie Hearn and Jake Paul, plus our very own boxing insider.