I was close to taking my own life, admits Ricky Hatton

Ricky Hatton has revealed just how close he came to committing suicide during his three-year retirement from boxing.  The 34-year-old said his girlfriend often had to prise a knife from his hand as depression took its toll on his life.  Hatton, who has had well-publicised battles with drink, drugs and depression after his loss to Manny Pacquiao in his last fight since May 2009, will return to the ring against Ukraine’s Vyacheslav Senchenko next month.  He told Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek programme: “I was near to a nervous breakdown, depression, suicidal. Most mornings my girlfriend would have to come downstairs and take a knife out of my hand. I had a knife at my wrists, I was in a really bad way, just hysterically crying for no reason.

“I’ve always liked a little bit of a drink, but my drinking had gone way off the Richter scale, I was having blackouts.  “And even if I was stone cold sober I was trying to kill myself. The real lowest point was when my little girl came along, who is one-year-old now. Hatton’s sonCampbell had the misfortune to see his dad in such a bad way, I am not going to do it any more to my kids and I’m not going to put my family though it any more.”  Hatton claims his life now is “really rosy”, but admitted in his eyes he was returning to the ring “ashamed” and as a “failure”.
“I feel sad because I feel ashamed of myself,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how many people say, ‘Ricky, everyone has problems and you got beaten my (Floyd) Mayweather (Jr) and Pacquiao who are the two best fighters of our generation, you did the country proud’.  “That’s very kind of people to say, but they don’t have to deal with this little fella who sits on my shoulder every day telling me that I’m a failure and I’ve let my family and my fans down and British sport, British boxing down. I feel a failure and it doesn’t matter how many people say, ‘Don’t be too hard on yourself’, that’s how I feel and that’s how I’m coming back. I feel I’ve got to redeem myself.
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Vitali Klitschko Enters Parliment

Vitali Klitschko, the reigning world heavyweight boxing champion, is about to engage in a different kind of fight.  He is set to enter Ukraine's parliament as a lawmaker and the head of the UDAR party, following Sunday's parliamentary elections. UDAR stands for Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reforms. The word also means “punch” in Ukrainian.  The over 2-meters-tall athlete conducted a campaign in which he was critical of corruption and cronyism in the government of Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych. Klitschko said after preliminary voting results that he would join the opposition alliance.

Klitschko is not an entire newcomer to the political process. He has twice staged unsuccessful runs to become the mayor of Kiev. In a statement on his website, he says he has entered politics because he wants to help his country “toward a better future.” He says his country continues to lag behind its Eastern European neighbors. Ukraine is the second largest nation after Russia to emerge from the former Soviet Union.  Klitschko is only the fourth boxer – besides Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis – to win a heavyweight belt for the third time.

Emanuel Steward devastates Lenox Lewis

Lewis is one of many top fighters to have had his career shaped by Steward, whose passing was last night confirmed by his sister. He was 68 and had recently undergone surgery for a stomach illness. He trained more than 40 world champions during his illustrious career, with Lewis being one of them. He went to Steward's Kronk Gym in Detroit after losing his WBC heavyweight title to Oliver McCall in 1994, reclaimed his title in 1997 and went on to have a spell as the undisputed champion before retiring in 2004. "I'm completely devastated by the passing of my long-time friend, mentor and trainer Emanuel "Manny" Steward," Lewis wrote on his official website."Manny has helped me get through some of the biggest fights in my career and I only regret that I couldn't return the favour and see him through his biggest fight. "We've maintained a close relationship and the last time we spoke he seemed his usual upbeat self so it was very disturbing to hear about his illness and rapid decline.

"It is with a heavy heart that realisation of what I hoped were just rumours are now in fact true. Manny always told me I was the best, but the truth is, HE was the best and I'm grateful, privileged and honoured to be counted among his many historic successes." Steward was inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996 and rose to prominence as a corner man owing to his work with Detroit fighter Thomas Hearns. Hearns, who became Steward's first professional fighter along with another Detroit native, Hilmer Kenty, in 1977, won his first world title in 1980 and went on to engage in a series of all-time classics with Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler. "This has been a very tragic year for the boxing world, but today we've truly lost one of its crown jewels," Lewis added.

"Comanche boy" is ready

NEW YORK: (July 11, 2012) Star Boxing has signed undefeated middleweight contender George “Comanche Boy” Tahdooahnippah to an exclusive promotional contract, it was announced today by Joe DeGuardia, its President.“We’re very excited to bring George aboard to Star Boxing’s extensive team of world class fighters. He’s an undefeated middleweight who fits into the mix very well of highly ranked contenders in the division” said DeGuardia of Tahdooahnippah who sports a record of 30-0-1 (22KO’s).  A proud Native American Indian and member of the Comanche Nation, Tahdooahnippah is based in Lawton, Oklahoma with his wife and four children.

Known for his heavy hands and fan friendly style, Tahdooahnippah celebrates each of his fight appearances and victories with the pounding of the Native American drums, the breathtaking display of Native American Fancy War Dancers and the hip hop sounds of his Native American rappers.  “I’m very excited to work with Joe DeGuardia and the team at Star Boxing to take my career to a higher level. I’m ready to take the next step to fight the best at 160 and look forward to returning to action in the very near future.”

Last July 16th, Tahdooahnippah won the WBC Continental Americas Middleweight Title with an impressive first round knockout of Jimmy Holmes at the Comanche Nation Casino in his hometown of Lawton, Oklahoma.  In 2012, Tahdooahnippah has had two fights thus far; a first round knockout of Tyrel Brown on February 25th and a six round decision win over Rahman Yusubov on April 26th.  Details of Tahdooahnippah’s debut under the Star Boxing banner will be announced shortly.

Alex "The brick city Bullet" Perez vs Antonin Decaire

Alex “The Brick City Bullet” Perez, 16-0, 9 KOs, is a tough and exciting fighter from Newark, NJ. Decarie, 26-1, 7 KOs, is also an action fighter, who has fought top competition and has been very successful. While neither fighter is a household name, both are top welterweights on the brink of stardom. When DiBella announced the fight he said, “It is a fight that people are legitimately excited about. Alex Perez is one of my best prospects and I think it’s going to be a great fight with Antonin Decarie.”

Since turning professional in 2004, Perez has experienced many ups and downs outside of the ring, but he has always trained hard and remained focused when in the ring under the tutelage of trainer/manager Jose Rosario. He is selective with his company and he travels with a small circle of close friends and family that form “Team Perez”. He is in the best shape of his life and is more than ready for Saturday, recently saying, “I always fight my heart out because I want to give my three sons a life that I always dreamed of and I also know my grandmother who passed away recently is watching over me.”

After an impressive amateur career, Alex successfully turned pro but was shot in the chest just weeks later. He recovered, returned to the sport and quickly found success back in the ring. However, just when things started to progress in his career again, Alex found himself looking at 30 years in prison while facing gun and aggravated assault charges. Perez, who prides himself on his faith and loyalty to his family and friends had that loyalty repaid when Danny Serratelli, a close friend who had trained with Perez since he was a teenager took the case pro bono. With the help of “Team Perez” the truth was brought to light and he was exonerated on all charges. At that point Perez returned to the ring with a vengeance and after picking up a couple of wins he signed with promoter Lou DiBella.

Ricky hatton will fight Vyacheslav Senchenko

Ricky Hatton’s opponent on his return to the ring at the MEN Arena on Nov 24 will be will be 35-year-old Ukrainian Vyacheslav Senchenko in a 10-round welterweight bout. The match-up puts him on a perfect path to a potential world title fight with Paulie Malignaggi, the World Boxing Association welterweight champion, in the first quarter of next year. In spite of Hatton’s self-imposed 3½-year exile from the ring, his popularity is clearly undiminished. The 16,500 tickets sold out in 48 hours before opponent Senchenko had even been announced. However, it is understood that some of those close to the boxer-turned-promoter may be unhappy about his decision to fight again

Police were called when Hatton’s father, Ray, had an altercation with his son the day before the boxer announced his comeback. It is unclear whether the two events are related. Former two-weight world champion Hatton, who last fought in May 2009 when he was knocked out in Las Vegas by Manny Pacquiao, announced his return to the ring earlier this month. He has been in strict training for several months.
Senchenko has lost just one of his 33 professional fights and is a former world champion. After a decorated amateur career at world level, Senchenko won the WBA welterweight title in 2009, defending it three times before being stopped by former Hatton victim Malignaggi in April this year. It was one of Malignaggi’s finest performances, and Hatton is targeting the Brooklynite for the belt early next year, provided he comes through this.

‘The Hitman’, who will celebrate his 34th birthday next week, retired from the sport last year but admitted he was itching to get back into the ring. “I’m sure that Vyacheslav Senchenko will give me a good fight. It’s one that I am confident I can win though,” he said. “I believe this was as good an opponent as I could have had. I’m in great shape, I’m feeling good and I know I can put on a performance.” The undercard features Hatton-promoted Scott Quigg and Rendell Munroe, who will compete in a re-match for the WBA interim world title at super bantamweight – their first meeting was stopped when Munroe suffered a huge cut above his eye after a clash of heads – while Sergey Rabchenko will fight Cedric Vitu for the European light-middleweight title. I can’t wait to get in the ring now,” said the 33-year-old.

Kevin Mitchell vs Ricky Burns

It seems that nobody is convinced about the outcome of tonight's brilliant fight in Glasgow between Kevin Mitchell, the travelling challenger, and Ricky Burns, the hometown champion, that is arguably the best English-against-Scottish fight since 1968.  Burns will be defending his WBO lightweight title for the second time and trying to get the recognition that has so far eluded his efforts, which have been both impressive and overlooked. Mitchell is on a simple mission of redemption after his wayward tendencies ruined his last world-title fight and started a free fall of destruction that came close to ending his career.

Burns famously celebrates his world-title victories with a trip to Nandos and a few hours on his Xbox while Mitchell, in his darkest hours, was out of control, collapsing between bars, one-night stands, violence and confrontations with the police. "I feared for him," admitted Burns, who has been a friend since amateur days.  In 2010 Mitchell was given his dream fight when Frank Warren delivered a WBO lightweight title chance against Michael Katsidis at Upton Park, home of Mitchell's team, West Ham, and a shrine to the young Dagenham fighter. It was all set in place for the local boy, but a breakdown in his relationship with his wife, a crazy streak and some pure stupidity ruined his chances.