Online Reporter
IT was Ricky Hatton’s final epic ring walk around his beloved Manchester.
The sounds were familiar – crowds of thousands singing ‘there’s only one Ricky Hatton.”
But there were no tears of joy this time. Just sadness as thousands of fans gathered along a route that snaked through the city to say they are own final farewells.
It was a journey that told the story of his life. From his local pub in Hyde to his beloved Etihad Stadium the champion bid a last farewell to the city he championed.
In return they turned out in force to pay their last respects to the fighter they called The Pride of Hyde.
The Ricky Hatton Memorial Route started in his local the Cheshire Cheese, a two minute walk away from his £1.7 million mansion.
The bar opened early at 9am with the funeral cortege arriving three quarters of an hour later.
Landlord Tony Cooper, 57, was out at 8am getting ready for the start of the procession.
Overcome with emotion, he struggled to find the words to describe his friend.
He said:
“This was his local, his home from home. He would come in with his friends for a Guinness, watch the football just be himself.
“He was such a nice, genuine man. It is such a loss.”
More than 50 of his friends gathered outside the boozer to form a guard of honour, each holding a large City flag on either side of the road.
Computer engineer Daniel Timperley, 43, said:
“We all arranged to meet here before the service to give him a send off.
“He was a great friend to all of us. He was just our mate.”
The cortege pulled up outside the pub promptly at 9.45am with Del Boy’s Reliant Robin from Only Fools and Horses on the back of a flat bed truck with a simple wreath of yellow flowers spelling out Ricky.
More than a thousand people erupted in spontaneous loud applause as the hearse bearing his coffin, emblazoned with the words Blue Moon, pulled up.
Many in the crowd could not hold back the tears, including most of the men.
The chant ‘there’s only one Ricky Hatton’ rang out as they choked back their tears in song.
In the cars behind his family wiped away tears at the rapturous reception.
Along the route of his last grand ring walk the streets were adorned with sky blue.
From tiny flags on graveyard railings to blue and black balloons outside the barbers he went for his hair cut.
City shirts were pinned to any available space.
Bread crates outside a sandwich shop were decked out with bunting and old footballing rivalries were put aside for one day for one special man.
At Manchester Cathedral another thousand fans gathered as mourners entered the North Door of the cathedral.
A sea of sky blue clashed with the black of the boxers and pop stars, from Frank Bruno to Wayne and Coleen Rooney, to get inside.
Liam Gallagher broke away from the Oasis tour, which stops at Brighton tonight, to attend and a sombre Bez and Shaun Ryder bowed their heads as they went inside.
Ex girlfriend Claire Sweeney wiped a tear from her eye.
The Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham also joined the boxing greats as former world champion Tyson Fury, resplendent in a suit of many colours, stood outside for half an hour greeting friends. —Sun.
Mathew Masinge