Family, friends and celebrities pack Manchester Cathedral with Liam Gallagher and Wayne Rooney among mourners
Tens of thousands lined the streets of Manchester on Friday to pay tribute to Ricky Hatton, the former world champion boxer who died last month aged 46.
Hatton was one of the most respected and adored sportsmen of his generation, able to tempt thousands of fans across the Atlantic to America for his fights against the likes of legendary boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. His death at home on 14 September was mourned throughout the world, with a minute’s silence held during the Manchester football derby that was played later that day.
Hatton’s funeral cortege wound its way through Manchester, with a sea of mourners clapping loudly at every stop and turn on its two-hour route. The procession began at the Cheshire Cheese in Hyde, his favourite pub where he was a regular and a stone’s throw away from his home, before continuing through the area towards Manchester Cathedral. Along the way it also stopped at sites such as the Harehill Tavern, another favourite of Hatton’s, as well as Hatton’s gym.
Once the procession reached Manchester Cathedral, Hatton’s coffin was led into the building carried by family and friends, including his brother, Matthew Hatton, and son, Campbell Hatton, both also boxers, and Paul Speak, who managed the Hitman throughout his career.
