Hatton's ex on coke binges and 36-hour benders ahead of Dancing on Ice debut
Ricky Hatton's ex-girlfriend believes the 'fight' to win Dancing on Ice will help the troubled former world champion with his battles against mental health issues and addiction.
The 45-year-old will skate alongside pro Robin Johnston for the 16th series of ITV's Dancing on Ice, which is scheduled to get underway at 6:30pm on Sunday. Olympic champion long jumper Greg Rutherford and ski jump hero Eddie the Eagle are among the others competing in the TV show.
However, Hatton's bid to become king of the ice rink comes after the ex-welterweight champion fought against crippling mental health issues. Hatton previously opened up on his battle which began after losing his fight professional fight, before taking cocaine and drinking 25 pints of Guinness a day after quitting boxing in 2009.
A year after quitting the sport, Hatton ended up in rehab. He has since fought back and is now aiming for glory on Dancing on Ice, which will help his battle against his mental health problems. That's according to Hatton's former girlfriend Angela Blemmings, who admits he is conquering his demons.
She told The Sun : "Boxers retire and then they go do another fight, because they've got nothing to stimulate them. So that can and does cause mental health problems and depression.
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"If things do keep coming for him TV-wise and other stuff, he's then keeping himself out there and busy, and that way he’s not just sat at home doing nothing with no goals in life."
Ricky Hatton and Angela Blemmings (rickyhitmanhatton/Instagram)Hatton's booze benders could last a day and a half and he used to use drugs to keep him going. Thanks to counselling, Hatton has managed to get his suicidal thoughts under control.
"He's doing really well," Blemmings added. "He did tell me that he used to go to the pub and drink for days and days. He still likes the drink, but that’s part of who he is and he lives a very social life. But he doesn’t drink like he used to."
Hatton isn't the only current or former boxing to have suffered with mental health issues. Tyson Fury has been an advocate for men's mental health after suffering himself and Blemmings sees similarities between the two. "I've seen the Fury situation and it sometimes reminds of Ricky, with the mood going up and down and how the people around him manage it," Blemmings continued.
Angela Blemmings has opened up on Ricky Hatton's mental health battle (rickyhitmanhatton/Instagram)
(WireImage)Back in November, Stockport-born Hatton opened up on struggles with mental health, having been left feeling suicidal after losing a fight to Manny Pacquiao in 2009. This came 16 months after his mental health battle began, following a defeat against Floyd Mayweather.
"Shortly after that (defeat to Pacquiao), I fell out with my mum and dad," he told Man Magazine. "You can see how my mind was going up and down and up and down.
"And then I was just sat in my living room, thinking to myself, 'You've got no boxing no more, you can't share what you've done with your mum and dad, you can't share it with your trainer, you haven't got a wife anymore…' I thought, 'What do I need to be here for?'
"I didn't want to be here, I really didn't. Back in the day, when I was in a really, really bad place, I just used to sit in the house and not leave the house. I used to just dwell on things. I think the more time you give yourself to just sit there and ponder, the worse it gets. You go under."
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