I got KOd by Floyd Mayweather, but I’m happy because 40,000 fans followed me to Las Vegas and I’m more loved than ‘The Best Ever’

Ricky Hatton looks back on his most famous loss with pride.

In 2007, ‘The Hitman’ tasted defeat for the first time when he was knocked out in round ten of his fight with five-weight world champion Floyd Mayweather.

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Sixteen years later, Hatton has battled through the mental health issues that followed the demise of his boxing career and is now happy with what he accomplished in defeat.

British fight fans travelled in their thousands to Las Vegas to watch Manchester’s favourite son fight Mayweather and their overwhelming didn’t go unnoticed.

“Going to [Las] Vegas with 40,000 [fans], fighting Mayweather who is probably going to go down as arguably the greatest of all time,” Hatton told talkSPORT.com when asked about his career highlights.

Today, Hatton is trying to give back to the sport through his gym and the upcoming ‘Box Off’ tournament which will allow young fighters the chance to shine.

Meanwhile, Mayweather continues to cash in with lucrative exhibition bouts against novice opponents – his old rival thinks that’s what separates them in the eyes of boxing fans.

“I think I’m loved more than Mayweather,” Hatton said.

“I’m not saying I’m as good as Mayweather but I’m more loved than Mayweather which is more important to me.

“He’s from Michigan, isn’t he? I think hardworking people who haven’t got a pot to p*** in in Michigan won’t appreciate him going around calling himself ‘Money’ Mayweather and throwing $100 bills about.

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“I feel scared when I go to my council estate driving my car around in case anyone thinks I’m a d***head, but Floyd has a different outlook on life.”

After years of grappling with his first loss, Hatton insists he wouldn’t change it despite the fact it signalled the beginning of the end of his glittering career.

“I wouldn’t swap anything for the world,” he concluded.

“For many years, that defeat upset me. I was devastated by it but now I look back with pride because he’ll go down as arguably the greatest of all time.”

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Hatton went on to lose two more fights against Manny Pacquiao and Vyacheslav Senchenko, who both knocked him out, before officially walking away from professional boxing in 2012.

Since then, he’s become a well-respected trainer and he even helped WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury get his career back on track after his much-discussed issues with mental health.

In 2022, Hatton returned to the ring for an exhibition bout against fellow legend Marco Antonio Barrera and would happily do so again if the right fight comes along – but whatever happens, he is content.

“Because the exhibition did so good for me physically, mentally and helped others, I think if another one come forward, I’d certainly look at it,” he said.

“If one doesn’t, I’m happy. I’m in a good place now and trying to give back to the sport that has been so good for me.”