Ricky Hatton's 11-year partnership with Billy Graham has come to an end after the trainer announced his retirement.
Graham retires from Hitman's corner
Ricky Hatton's 11-year partnership with trainer Billy Graham has come to an end.
Graham has ended speculation about his future by announcing he will retire from the sport after acting as cornerman for Ojay Abrahams' fight in Watford on Friday.
Hatton will therefore be without Graham as he prepares for his world title clash against Paulie Malignaggi.
The Mancunian is now likely to be trained by Graham's assistant Lee Beard for the fight, which takes place on November 22nd.
He will sit down with his team to discuss a permanent replacement in due course.
The Hitman's father, Ray, was quick to pay tribute to the man who took his teenage son into his Salford gym - Hatton emerging to become a world champion at two different weights and arguably one of Britain best-ever fighters.
Graham's last stint in Hatton's corner therefore remains his victory over Juan Lazcano at the City of Manchester Stadium in May.
Ray Hatton said: "Ricky and Billy had a meeting yesterday in which Billy admitted he was not going any further. It was quite emotional because they have been together for so long.
"It's a sad day. Billy will always be remembered as one of the world's great trainers and to go out after a win in front of 58,000 people in Manchester will be a fitting end to his career.
"But everybody knew Billy had been struggling in recent years with a few health problems and it was becoming increasingly painful for him to train Ricky.
"We knew the bombshell was coming and it was just a question of when."
Pressure
Despite the fighter's claim that the partnership would stand firm for the remainder of his career, pressure mounted on Graham following Hatton's defeat to Floyd Mayweather last December.
At the time, speculation surfaced that splits in the camp and Graham's health concerns could have been factors in Hatton's first career loss.
Last month, Hatton's younger brother Matthew also announced that he was to split with Graham.
But Ray Hatton denied claims of an acrimonious end to the partnership, adding: "When most fighters suffer their first defeat the first thing they do is sack the trainer.
"It is a mark of how strong their bond was that such a thing never crossed Ricky's mind.
"Instead they got back into training for Ricky's tough homecoming fight against Juan Lazcano.
"It was a very difficult night for both of them but it's great that Billy went out on a winning note."
