CAMPBELL HATON'S breakthrough with the ring is helping Ricky, an iconic father, to heal some of his deepest hurts.
Hatton, a two-weight world champion, felt he had let down his fans when KO defeats to Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather occurred.
Hatton Sr. is with his son every step of the journey
He was able to overcome depression and addiction issues, and he lost his final fight against Vyacheslav Senchenko in 2012.
Hatton Sr cried through his final post-fight interview. "I'm no failure, I'm a success," he said.
He was something that nobody thought possible. Ricky is reminded every day by his 20-year-old son Campbell, whose popularity has grown after three pro fights.
Ricky recalled that Campbell's fight with Sonni Martinez was on the AJ vs Usyk Undercard.
"I felt worthless, no matter how many people said they loved me. I felt like I let people down, but I didn't know how sick I was.
"When I was able to overcome all of that and had a comeback fight I felt like I'd found my redemption.
"Now, I go to Manchester City games. The same spit ‘n sawdust bars I’ve always used. I get young children who have never seen me live and tell me that they love Campbell.
"At the last game that I attended, there were two lads in the bar with the inscription 'Campbell’ on their City shirts.
"Feeling the support of Manchester around me means so much but that's exactly what these people give you back when you do your best and stay true to your roots.
"It makes me cry when I hear from teenage boys that they have missed my career, but they still watch old fights on Sky and YouTube, which makes them want to support Campbell.
"It makes my heart so proud, and he is deserving of it."
Campbell has only shown glimpses of his enormous promise at high-pressure shows. They were present at the Manchester Arena, Gibraltar and Eddie Hearn's Essex garden.
The best signs of encouragement are found outside the ring, where he is extremely critical of his performances and refuses to be distracted by the hype.
Ricky, 42 years old, stated that he knows his potential and what he still has to prove.
"It took me some time to transfer all the good stuff that I did in the gym into my fights, but I didn’t have thousands of people watching.
We want him to make steady progress. Matthew, his uncle, and trainer Matthew will continue to find ways to improve. We wouldn't let him down if they didn't."
Campbell will be following the second-generation footsteps of fighters Chris Eubank Jr. and Nigel Benn’s son Conor.
Campbell has received encouragement from both Ricky and Campbell, and Ricky feels relieved to have walked the same path.
He stated that "Those two lads were the first to get through and they took some terrible abuse on social media."
"Comparisons with their dads, faceless criticism. So we knew what to expect. We knew what we were up against.
"Thankfully, most Campbell public feedback is positive at 90 percent. However, you do get the occasional d *******.
"But, just take a look at Chris and Conor now, fighting for big titles & signing huge TV deals.
"So now we know where we are going and we will take our time to make sure it's done right."
