Coroner ‘cannot be satisfied’ that Ricky Hatton intended to take his own life

Coroner ‘cannot be satisfied’ that Ricky Hatton intended to take his own life Former boxing world champion’s cause of death was hanging but his intention was unclear, inquest concludes A coroner has said she “cannot be satisfied” that British former boxing world champion Ricky Hatton intended to take his own life. Hatton, 46, was found dead in his home on 14 September, with the inquest concluding that the official cause of his death was hanging. But the veteran boxer “was the best he had been in years” in the lead-up to his death, his family told Stockport coroner’s court. Hatton’s body was found in his home in Hyde, Greater Manchester , after police received a call from a concerned neighbour, later revealed to have been his manager, Paul Speak. Hatton was last seen by family members on Friday 12 September, when he took his daughters and granddaughter to a pub for a meal, the court heard. When saying goodbye, Hatton appeared normal and said he would see them in a couple of days after returning from Dubai, where he was due to take part in an exhibition boxing match, the inquest heard. The next day Hatton did not appear at an engagement he was scheduled to attend, and on the morning of Sunday 14 September, Speak went to Hatton’s home to escort him to Manchester airport to fly to Dubai, the court heard. When he did not get a response, Speak entered Hatton’s home, where he found him unresponsive. Speak called the emergency services, but Hatton was pronounced dead. Tests later revealed that Hatton was “well over” the drink-drive limit at the time of his death. Traces of previous use of cocaine and cannabis were also found. The former world champion had been open about his struggles with clinical depression and substance abuse, saying on one occasion that he “was coming off the rails” with his drink and drug use, describing himself previously as being “like a runaway train”. Postmortem evidence also showed some damage to his brain identified as chronic traumatic encephalo...