Ricky Hatton

'Richard, Rick, Ricky - more like a Rocky story which led to a rollercoaster of fabulous nights, taking a down-to-earth lad from Hyde to Vegas and into the Boxing Hall of Fame. With those spine-tingling Blue Moon ringwalks, and rip-roaring action, Richard Hatton MBE was both a sporting icon and a working-class hero.'

As 'The Voice of Boxing' delivered Ricky Hatton's eulogy, Adam Smith's opening words echoed through Manchester Cathedral and across the country. Ricky Hatton's death stunned the world in a way few sporting losses ever have. Tribute after tribute poured in, from the lads on the estates to the A-listers on the red carpets. Everybody loved Ricky. Everybody felt they had lost someone who belonged to them. Ricky Hatton was their voice, their joy, their fighter.

With the approval of Ricky's family, Adam Smith tells his extraordinary story in full. From Ricky's debut in Widnes and his iconic Blue Moon ringwalks to his title bouts and fight nights in Las Vegas, as well as his struggles after retirement, his life is captured in vivid detail. Adam was one of Ricky's closest friends and was with him from the very beginning - at ringside, backstage, in bars, in cars, in late-night hotel corridors, through all the triumphs, meltdowns, laughter, heartbreak and healing. Adam didn't just tell Ricky's story on television, he lived it with him. His laugh. His energy. His madness. His compassion. His heart. All of it lives on in these pages.

Raw and unflinchingly honest, this is a story of a deeply personal friendship forged through boxing and a powerfully poignant tribute to one of Britain's most beloved sporting icons.