Ricky Hatton was a former world champion. Ian Hodgson/Getty Images

British boxer and former world champion Ricky Hatton had died at the age of 46, according to UK media reports.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police told CNN: “Officers were called by a member of the public to attend Bowlacre Road, Hyde, Tameside, at 6:45am today where they found the body of a 46-year-old man. There are not currently believed to be any suspicious circumstances.” They did not announce a cause of death or confirm the man’s identity.

Hatton was nicknamed “The Hitman” and won world titles in both light-welterweight and welterweight classes during a career in which he fought the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao and Kostya Tszyu.

Remarkably, until his loss to Mayweather in 2007, he h

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