John Hedges wishes Ricky Hatton was here to see him fight Pat Brown in Manchester

John Hedges is thinking of his former coach Ricky Hatton a year after his tragic death, and on the week of the biggest fight of his career.

The British icon sadly took his own life on September 14, 2025, leaving fight fans and the people of Manchester in shock. Hatton touched the lives of countless people during and after his career, and Hedges was among those who experienced his generosity first-hand. Four weeks before challenging for the English title, Hedges found himself without a trainer. He turned to Hatton, who had already been a friend before becoming his coach.

“I called him up on a Monday, ‘Rick, I've got no coach, and I've got four weeks to fight for an English title’,” Hedges told BoxingScene. “I definitely think he must have had a drink, cause he said, ‘Well, you better fucking get yourself here then.’”

Hatton never took a penny from Hedges. With him in his corner, Hedges went on to defeat Nathan Quarless for the English cruiserweight title in May 2025 – just four months before Hatton’s death. Now, Hedges will return to Hatton’s city of Manchester this Saturday to take on local favorite Pat Brown for the vacant British and Commonwealth titles. The contest will take place at Co-op LIVE, just a few feet away from the Etihad Stadium, the home of Hatton’s beloved Manchester City F.C.

“It’s meant to be,” said Hedges, 12-0 (3 KOs). “It’s absolutely crazy. This was meant to be in Altricham, and then he got moved to the AO Arena, and then it got moved to the Co-op LIVE. You know how much he loved Man City. It was like, what is going on? It's the week of the anniversary of his death, and it's now next door to his Man City stadium. I'm just so upset that he ain't here to see it, because he'd be chuffed to bits.”

Hatton believed in Hedges at a time when Hedges struggled to believe in himself.

“He always said, ‘Look, mate, you're physically not mature. If I was a terrible coach I'd be saying to you get on the juice, go get something in you, and you'll be massive. You've got all the boxing ability, but I'm not [a terrible coach].’ He said, ‘Your ability is going to come with time. But genuinely, John, within 18 months I see you being world level and campaigning at that level.’ I was like, ‘Oh, behave, leave off. Let's deal with Nathan Quarless.’ And obviously he wasn't far wrong. Within the space of 10 months, I'm headlining my first card. So, yeah, he could have just been right.”