Freddie Flintoff reveals Ricky Hatton's death made him finally open up about mental health
An emotional Freddie Flintoff has come forward about his own mental health struggles in the wake of boxing legend Ricky Hatton's death
England cricket legend Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff has revealed how boxer Ricky Hatton's death made him feel “obliged” to open up about his mental health problems.
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Flintoff revealed to Piers Morgan on his Uncensored YouTube show the impact the boxer's opens had on him.
He said “I never knew all these things that he were struggling with ’til we sat down and we started talking, obviously he was so honest about what he’d been going through and how he felt.”
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The 46-year-old former world welterweight champion was found dead at his home in Hyde last month, with Greater Manchester Police stating they were not treating the death as suspicious.
At the opening of his inquest on Thursday, his provisional cause of death was given as hanging.
The former England cricket captain gave an emotional insight into the last time he saw Ricky: “I wasn’t going to give as much away about myself but then felt obliged to actually if he’s doing this.”
He continued: “Ricky, one of the great men, you know, I met him years ago.
“He’s charming, he’s funny, our careers run parallel with each other at the height, at the same time. I went to his fights…
“We had nights out in the in Manchester and sung karaoke together and I never knew all these things that he was struggling with until we sat down.
“[Ricky’s] this working class hero from Manchester who goes into the ring, he fights, all heart. He’s funny.
“You see him like doing stand up routines at press conferences and he feels like this.
“And then obviously what’s happened over the past two weeks, it’s been devastating.”
Last week, celebrities including Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, former England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen, and boxers Tyson and Tommy Fury attended a memorial service at Manchester Cathedral.
The service was played to the crowds outside the cathedral and Hatton's son Campbell, who followed his father into the boxing ring, paid tribute, saying: "I can't explain how much I'm going to miss you, dad, and that we won't be making any new memories - but the ones we did I will cherish forever."
During his 15-year career, Ricky won four world titles at both light-welterweight and welterweight.
After trading blows with some of history’s greatest fighters, he became known as one of the greatest UK boxers of his generation.
He won 45 of his 48 fights – including against greats such as Kostya Tszyu and Jose Luis Castillo. But the boxing great suffered knockout loses to Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao.
Ricky was awarded an MBE in 2007 and had worked as a boxing promoter and trainer since hanging up his gloves.
He was scheduled to return to boxing in December this year with a professional bout.