'Richard, Rick, Ricky - more like a Rocky story which led to a rollercoaster of fabulous nights, taking a down-to-earth lad from Hyde to Vegas and into the Boxing Hall of Fame. With those spine-tingling Blue Moon ring-walks, and rip-roaring action, Richard Hatton MBE was both a sporting icon and a working-class hero.'

As 'The Voice of Boxing' delivered Ricky Hatton's eulogy, Adam Smith's opening words echoed through Manchester Cathedral and across the country. Ricky Hatton's death stunned the world in a way few sporting losses ever have. Tribute after tribute poured in, from the lads on the estates to the A-listers on the red carpets. The public's grief was instant and visceral. Everybody loved Ricky. Everybody felt they had lost someone who belonged to them. Thousands lined the streets of Manchester as his coffin journeyed on from his hometown of Hyde. Britain had not stopped like this in decades. Ricky Hatton was their voice, their joy, their fighter.

With the approval of Ricky's family, Adam Smith tells his extraordinary story in full. Adam was one of Ricky's closest friends and was with him from the very beginning - at ringside, backstage, in bars, in cars, in late-night hotel corridors, through all the triumphs, meltdowns, laughter, heartbreak and healing. All of those tales are captured in vivid detail, as well as interviews with Ricky's family, trainers, opponents, colleagues, and the likes of Wayne Rooney, Tyson Fury and the Gallaghers. From his debut in Widnes to the fight nights in Vegas and his struggles after retirement, Adam didn't just tell Ricky's story on television. He lived it. His laugh. His energy. His madness. His compassion. His heart. All of it lives on in these pages.

This is a deeply poignant tribute to one of Britain's most beloved sporting icons.