RICKY HATTON announced his retirement from boxing after his ninth-round knockout by Vyacheslav Senchenko in Manchester, insisting: "I needed one more fight to see if I had still got it - and I haven't." An emotional Hatton said he would devote his future to his family and his promotional activities after coming to the conclusion to call it a day despite having initially suggested he may consider fighting on.

A badly bruised Hatton said: "I found out tonight it isn't there no more. I'm a straight-shooter and I tell the truth. I can look at myself in the mirror and tell myself I did my best, but there is always an excuse to find. I got in the best shape I possibly could but if I hadn't been hit with that body shot I would have just scraped over the line with a points win and I honestly think I would still be telling you all the same thing.