Ricky Hatton, at one point one of the faces of British boxing, recently revealed he had a battle with depression that got so bad at several times that he contemplated committing suicide.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Hatton said after he retired from the sport, he would face long nights crying and would think about ending his life.
"I tried to kill myself several times," Hatton said. "I used to go to the pub, come back, take the knife out and sit there in the dark crying hysterically. There were times when I hadn't had a drink for days and I'd still come home and if something went through my mind I'd start pondering something. It was the same outcome whether I was having a drink or wasn't having a drink. But in the end I thought I'll end up drinking myself to death because I was so miserable."
Hatton also spoke at length about former unified heavyweight champion Tyson Fury's battles with his personal demons. When Fury's rematch with Wladimir Klitschko was called off, it was due to Fury not being medically cleared to compete and according to reports, Fury may have been dealing with mental issues. Hatton said he tried to talk to Fury.
"I contacted him to see if he was all right and I never got a reply," Hatton said. "Tyson is a very complex person. From my point of view, having not spoken to him, I don't know how poorly or how bad he is. He might just be Tyson being Tyson. But if he is in a bad place and is depressed, I hope he's speaking to the right people in order to sort it out."
Hatton is a former welterweight and light welterweight world champion. His fight resume is an impressive one, with bouts against Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Paulie Malignaggi and Luis Collazo and has a 45-3 record as a pro boxer. He retired from the sport in 2012.
