Boxing

Boxing Legend And Former Fighter Of the Year To Return To The Ring At 46

The Sun reports Hatton will fight in Dubai in December.
Joseph Hammond|
IMAGO / Action Plus

Despite having been retired for 13 years, Ricky Hatton MBE appears set to come out of retirement this year. 

The British boxing legend is set to return to the ring in Dubai on December 2nd.

Hatton, known for his relentless pressure and hardcore fanbase, held multiple world titles in two weight classes. During his ring career, he faced some of the biggest names of his era, from Floyd Mayweather to Manny Pacquiao.

Hatton announced the fight, saying:

Fight! Fight! Fight!
It’s official.
2nd December 2025
The Agenda, Dubai.
@HitmanHatton

He was last in the ring in 2012 against Vyacheslav Senchenko. Before that, he was stopped by Manny Pacquiao in the second round of their 2009 fight. He was named Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine, the Boxing Writers Association of America, and ESPN, all in 2005. He was admitted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame last year.  In 2022, he fought an exhibition match with former Mexican champion Marco Antonio Barrera at the AO Arena in Manchester.

His opponent for the Dubai rematch is Eisa Al Dah. Al Dah, the “Arabian Warrior,” bills himself as the first professional boxer in the history of the Arabian Peninsula countries. It will also be a comeback fight for Al Dah. The Emirati boxer last fought in 2021 when he was knocked out in the first round by Pedro Alejandro Delgado in Mexico City.

Ricky Hatton
Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

While Hatton had a vastly more significant career, the two fighters have one thing in common – they are both currently 46 years old.

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Joseph Hammond
JOSEPH HAMMOND

Joseph Hammond is a veteran sports journalist with extensive experience covering world championship fights across three continents. He has interviewed legendary champions such as Julio César Chávez, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Gennady Golovkin, Oscar De La Hoya, and Bernard Hopkins, among many others. He reported ringside for KO On SI in 2024 for the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk bout in Riyadh - the first undisputed heavyweight championship in 24 years.

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