Ricky Hatton, 46, to make boxing comeback 13 years after his last fight

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Ricky Hatton, the 46-year-old former two-weight world champion, will return to the ring to fight in the United Arab Emirates in December, 13 years after he retired.

The Manchester native, who turns 47 in October, will face Eisa Al Dah in Dubai on Dec. 2, it has been announced.

Hatton (45-3) has not fought since losing in his last comeback bout to Vyacheslav Senchenko in November 2012.

“Fight! Fight! Fight! It’s official,” Hatton posted on X.

He won world titles at welterweight and light-welterweight, with his other two losses coming against pound-for-pound greats Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

He is the latest former champion to announce a comeback long after retirement in a growing market for such events, with Pacquiao, Mike Tyson, Roy Jones Jr. and Julio César Chávez Jr. all making lucrative returns.

Al Dah, also 46, has not fought since 2021 and only once since 2012. But he was adamant it will be action packed.

“It will not be like the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight,” Al Dah said. It will be a true fight. True action and I will do my best.”

Hatton became a British sporting hero after winning epic battles against Kostya Tszyu, José Luis Castillo and Paulie Malignaggi. They earned him clashes with Mayweather and Pacquiao — but both ended in knockout defeats.

He retired for the first time after his brutal second round knockout defeat against Pacquiao in 2009, but returned more than three years later and fought Ukrainian Senchenko at the Manchester Arena.

That fight also ended in defeat with a ninth-round stoppage that left Hatton in tears.

Since retiring, Hatton has trained other fighters in his Manchester gym.

He said he hoped his fight would lead to more being staged in Dubai.

“There’s a market for it,” he said, “and I think it’ll be a sensational evening.”

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson