Ricky Hatton inspired by Tyson Fury's comeback as confirms return to boxing aged 43

Ricky Hatton has opened up on why he will return to boxing aged 43 - almost 10 years after his last fight after he was inspired by Tyson Fury's comeback.

Hatton had trained Tyson Fury in recent years, being in his corner for his comeback fights, and has revealed that like Fury, he battled with depression and drew on similarities between their experiences - saying the Gypsy King found himself in a 'very dark place' after winning the world title against Wladimir Klitschko.

The Manchester legend compared that feeling to with what he suffered with after his first professional loss to Floyd Mayweather in December 2007, which had begun a dark period in his life when he suffered with depression and lead to a drinking problem.

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He said: "The thing that got the ball rolling for me was the Mayweather fight. I didn’t just turn up for my biggest payday to fight Floyd Mayweather. I genuinely thought I was going to beat him. Then when I didn’t, I couldn’t do any appearances. I couldn’t go out in public. I couldn’t show my face. It was a real horrible experience."

Hatton added: "Tyson was very similar to me. I have spoken to Tyson about this. He’s not going into as much detail, but he said he just got into a very, very dark place. He even said he was depressed when he won the world title. You think to yourself, how can you become the heavyweight champion of the world and still be in such a deep and dark place."

Although it won't be an official comeback, as he is set to fight Marco Antonio Barrera in an exhibition bout, the Manchester legend has revealed that he needed a reason to get out of bed and something to look forward to.

Hatton will fight in front of his hometown