Manchester is saying its last goodbye to boxing icon Ricky Hatton

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester is saying its last goodbye to boxing icon Ricky Hatton.

The former world champion died last month aged 46. His funeral was held Friday in the city’s cathedral and fans lined up as the cortège made its way through the streets.

Former boxing world champions at the funeral included Tyson Fury, Amir Khan and Kell Brook. Fans were outside Manchester Cathedral hours before the coffin carrying Hatton arrived.

“As a boxing fan, and as a friend of his, I think he leaves a massive legacy behind him because he was one of the biggest names in boxing from Manchester and the country as well,” Khan told The Associated Press.

Outside the cathedral, a brass band played Hatton’s anthem, “Walking in a Hatton wonderland,” to the tune of “Winter Wonderland.”

The crowd cheered as Hatton's sky blue coffin — the colors of his beloved Manchester City — was carried into the cathedral.

Inside, there were moving tributes from his children, each greeted with applause from around 900 people in attendance.

Hatton, who won world titles at light-welterweight and welterweight, was found dead when police officers attended his home in Greater Manchester.

The cause of Hatton’s death has not been confirmed. Family and friends have spoken of his well-documented battles with his mental health.

It was a fitting farewell Friday to Hatton, who was personally known and loved by so many in Manchester and throughout the U.K. with his fans following in their thousands to watch his biggest fights in America.

“He was Manchester’s favorite son. He gave Manchester some of its greatest nights. Not just in sport, I’m talking about in general," said another former world champion boxer Anthony Crolla.

There were also mourners from the wider world of sport, including Manchester United and England great Wayne Rooney and Man City icons Mike Summerbee and Paul Dickov. Oasis star Liam Gallagher was also among the mourners.

Sky Sports commentator Adam Smith gave an emotional tribute, describing Hatton as a “working class hero,” a “people’s champion” and the son of Manchester.

“He was just a local lad,” said Ian Ramsbottom, who was among the fans outside the cathedral to pay his respects. “It was always his dream to be the best in the world. He never moved out when he got his fame and fortune.”

Hatton's last fight, when making a comeback in 2012, was within footsteps of the cathedral at the Manchester Arena when a sold-out crowd watched his stoppage defeat to Vyacheslav Senchenko.

The Arena was also the scene of his greatest triumph when winning the IBF light welterweight title against Kostya Tszyu in 2005.

Another memorable night came three years later when he filled the Man City stadium for a fight against Juan Lazcano.

But Hatton's biggest fights were in Las Vegas against pound-for-pound greats Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao when his army of fans made the Vegas strip feel like home for Hatton.

“If you think what Ricky did, he took boxing to a different level, especially in Great Britain," Khan said. "When he went to America that gave me the inspiration to go to America myself.”

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Liam Gallagher, center, of the band Oasis attends the funeral for boxer Ricky Hatton in Manchester, England, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

The hearse of former boxing champion , Ricky Hatton arrives at the Etihad Stadium following the funeral earlier at Manchester Cathedral, England, Friday Oct. 10, 2025. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

Family members carry the coffin of boxer Ricky Hatton out of Manchester Cathedral following his funeral in Manchester, England, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Boxer Tyson Fury, centre, attends the funeral of boxer Ricky Hatton, in Manchester, England, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

The hearse stops outside Hatton's Gym in Hyde, during a procession, ahead of a funeral service for former boxing champion Ricky Hatton at Manchester Cathedral, England, Friday Oct. 10, 2025. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Conservative Party, which governed the country from 2010 until it suffered its worst-ever electoral defeat two years ago, was plunged into fresh turmoil Thursday after its leader sacked the man widely seen as her greatest rival for apparently plotting to defect from the party.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said in a video and statement on X that she sacked the party's justice spokesperson Robert Jenrick due to “irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect" in a way that was “designed to be as damaging as possible” to the party.

Badenoch also ejected Jenrick from the party's ranks in Parliament and suspended his party membership.

“The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I,” she said. “They saw too much of it in the last government, they’re seeing too much of it in this government. I will not repeat those mistakes.”

Though Badenoch did not specify which party Jenrick was planning to switch to, Nigel Farage, leader of the hard-right Reform UK party, said he had “of course” had conversations with him.

In the past 12 months, the Conservatives have suffered a string of defections to Reform UK, including some former Cabinet ministers.

Farage said in a press briefing in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, that coincided with Badenoch's statement that, “hand on heart,” he wasn't about to present Jenrick as the latest Conservative to defect to Reform, an upstart, anti-immigration party.

“I’ll give him a ring this afternoon,” he said. “I might even buy him a pint, you never know.”

The Conservatives are fighting not just the Labour government to their left, but Reform UK to the right. Reform has topped opinion polls for months, trounced the Conservatives in last May’s local elections and has welcomed a stream of defecting Tory members and officials.

Jenrick, who has continued to attract speculation about leadership ambitions despite being beaten in 2024, has appeared more open than Badenoch to the prospect of some sort of deal between the Conservatives and Reform in the run-up to next general election, which has to take place by 2029.

Jenrick has yet to respond to the news of his sacking.

The Conservatives remain the official opposition to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour.

Badenoch, a small-state, low-tax advocate, has shifted the Conservatives to the right, announcing policies similar to those of U.S. President Donald Trump, including a promise to deport 150,000 unauthorized immigrants a year.

Her poor poll ratings and lackluster performance in Parliament had stirred speculation that she could be ousted long before the next election.

However, she has been making a better impression in Parliament in recent weeks in a way that appears to have cemented her position as leader.

The party is no stranger to turmoil, having gone through six leaders in the space of 10 years, five of them serving as prime minister. Widespread anger at the way the Conservatives were governing Britain led to their defeat at the general election in July 2024, when they lost around two-thirds of their lawmakers, their worst performance since the party was created nearly 200 years ago.

Reform Party leader Nigel Farage addresses protesters outside the Iranian embassy, in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Kemi Badenoch with Robert Jenrick before being announced as the new Conservative Party leader following the vote by party members at 8 Northumberland Avenue in central London, Nov. 3, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)