Ricky 'The Hitman' Hatton Civic Reception
The Civic Reception to Honour Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton
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The Civic Reception to honour Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton the IBF Light Welterweight Champion of the World. It took place on Wednesday 20th July at Hyde Town Hall and was attended by local dignitaries, friends and family.
Ricky was presented with a 12 piece silver cutlery set and a portrait as mementos of the occasion.
Text Only Version
Mayor Jacqueline Lane
I just want to say welcome Ricky, all your family and especially little Campbell there. And not forgetting James, number 1 fan but welcome and thank you for coming today, it's great. I just want to say what a great honour it is to actually have this reception today, in honour of the champion Ricky Hatton and it is an honour, Ricky. The people of Tameside and Tameside Council are very proud of you. Not just proud of you but proud of your success and the way you handle your life and the way you remain real when you're out there on the streets so just keep the good work up with that. We just want to say thanks for what you've brought back to Tameside and I'm not sure whether you know this or not Ricky, but every time we have a council meeting and you've got a success we make announcements in council and say well done to you and inform the members. And to be honest it's actually so much now that we're thinking of putting you on as a regular feature on the agenda because it's like every time! So you know, that's how good it is!
I unfortunately, have only got so far as to watching you from behind a pillow, love. Im sorry about that but I'm not very good but I have done the odd screaming behind the pillow "come on Ricky" so you know. But before I move over to handing you over to the Executive Leader of the Council, Roy. I just want to thank you for all that you've done, I know I've said it again but you've not only done it for Tameside, you've done it for your country as well, to the sport of boxing and also to the community. And I know you're heavily involved in the community and we thank you for that.
You're a great ambassador, and you're a local hero and that not just goes for the young, but goes through to the old. I was actually speaking to an elderly resident in sheltered accommodation just after your fight and they'd done this run up, you know on Sky and the telly and you'd got stopped when you were doing your training in the middle of the night by the police and she was laughing. She's eighty-odd actually and she said to me "well done Ricky, he's put Hyde back on the map for the right reasons". So with that I just want to wish you and your family every success, all the love in the world because you really deserve it. And I'd like to hand over to Councillor Roy Oldham, the Leader of the Council.
Roy Oldham
Madam Mayor, distinguished guests, ladies and gentleman. We're here to honour you, Ricky because you've proved something not just to the rest of us but to yourself. You've proved the young man can make the grade, and that's something very special to us in Tameside because we need people like yourself to demonstrate to our young that it's possible that they don't have to be vandals, they don't have to break things, they can get on with a decent set of activities which can lead them into all kinds of places and you've proven that to us. And it's very important that we've got you here today to tell you that. And we really, really do appreciate all you've done for the community as the Mayoress said. One thing we would like you to do is to wear on your shorts the Tameside badge, that would be very appropriate for us. And there's something special about you because for a young person to get through to the top of the profession like you've done you've got to have a proper base, and that base clearly comes from the family. Your mother and your father, your brother, young Jamie and of course your extended family so that's the important ingredient as well. If you haven't got that, you've got nothing really which will promote you, and it's very self evident from the films and the closeness you've got with your family that that's absolutely true.
The other thing you've got Billy Graham "The Preacher", now when I heard of that at first I thought he was an evangelist. I didn't quite connect him up with boxing but I guess it's much the same whereas Billy Graham's trying to get people to go heaven, your trainer Billy Graham's trying to get people you fight to look at heaven. And I guess there's some connection in that. You've obviously got great character and superb choice with your football team. And I can match you in terms of sporting terms because I too support Manchester City, which is the best team is what you've said, in the country, and the best supported team in the sense of coming from Manchester and not from all over the globe to support the other one. And I thought it very fitting to hear Blue Moon rendered, and that always touches a real fan of City.
39 fights professionally, 39 wins most of them knockout. Kid McCauley, the first guy in 1997, and then if I can pronounce his name Costa Tszyu in the MEN Arena on June 4 th of this year. Fantastic fight and we applaud you and wish you all the best in the future, and the rest of your life and you keep this up to demonstrate to young people and older people how we should all behave; Professionally, properly, helpfully and you've done a fantastic job not just for Hyde, not just for Tameside but for this country as well. Thank you.
Ricky Hatton Speech
I'd just like to say that thank you very much and how proud I am to be given a reception like this today because to be honest when you first put a pair of boxing gloves on as a youngster of 10 years of age when I first walked through the door of the boxing club, I never ever in my wildest dreams that I would get to this stage. You're always dreaming and hoping that you can get to this stage but even when it happens I have to pinch myself at what I've achieved, and ive done it with a lot of help from a lot of very special people. Obviously, I'd like to thank Billy Graham my trainer who's done so much for me since I turned professional. I'd like to thank all the lads from the Phoenix Camp Gym, Bobby Rimmer, Kerry Kayes and just basically all the lads from the gym, my promoter Frank Warren he's done a fantastic job on me up to this point. My little son Campbell for being and inspiration to me, It's great that my younger brother Matthew is also making headways now as a boxer. Matthew's won a couple of championships and he doesn't need his big brother now to make his name so I'm very, very proud of Matthew and more importantly to my mam and dad because I know obviously people see me fighting on the TV Frank Warren and obviously, Billy and people in the camp get a lot of credit but not a lot of people see what your parents do for you hidden away behind the scenes, nobody ever sees that part and they've done so much on me that I don't think I could've been a champion without the help and support from my mam and dad and my family in general, so a big, big thank you to my mum and dad. Also to the amateur coaches Ted Peat, Paul Dunn, Sale West Amateur Boxing Club and Mick Lowen who helped me out in the early days when I was a nobody, when I wasn't even a champion. And those are the people now that years ago when I was in the amateurs I haven't forgot about them as well, they've done as much for my career as anybody out there and basically just to the people of Tameside, Hyde, Hattersley and all around the area where I was born because even though I've become a World Champion, they don't treat me like a World Champion they just treat me as Ricky , they just treat me as their friend and if boxing finished tomorrow all these people in Tameside would still be my friends anyway.
There's nothing better than when you see 22,000 people cheering you on defending your world title and I could not have got more support than I have done and for the people of Tameside and the people around this area and there is no prouder moment for me, to bring my belt back to Hyde on a Sunday afternoon I spend in the New Inn public house in Hattersley with my friends and relatives who've been there for me from day one. Because as you can imagine there are a lot of friends when you reach a certain level, but they're friends with me because of who I am rather than what I am and I just enjoy spending the day with the people closest to me who've been there from day one, and just thank you to the Lord Mayor, the reception for me today really does make me very, very proud and I think no matter how many world championships I win or how many fights I win I cant ever see me moving out of this area because this is where my kind of people are from. And just basically thanks to everybody for their support, im sure I've done you proud in the previous 39 fights I've had and I believe the best years are ahead of me and I hope to continue to put Hyde, Hattersley and my local area on the map. Thank you very much.
Ricky Hatton Interview
It was very nice as I walked through the door there, to see my family and friends and people that I went to school with, my amateur coaches, all the people who at some point have had something to do with Ricky Hatton's career really. And just being acknowledged by your home town is just very, very touching.
You know I still have the same friends now that I've always had and they were the friends that were there from day 1. I think my family, my mum and dad have brought me up the right way to be respectful and just knowing how the people think of me like today, how highly people think of me and how much the fans think of me. 22,000 at the MEN, I think they come and watch me because of my exciting style but also because they see that there is no heirs and graces and im no different from the man in the crowd.
No matter how many titles I win I can't see me ever moving out of the area, and I won't never ever change.