The Hitman (Ricky Hatton)****

Some autobiographies are great to read whether you’re interested in the subject or not. My whole family loved Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch, even though only two of us are interested in football. The Hitman unfortunately might not be so universally appealing – although boxing fans will surely enjoy it. Even those that aren’t particular fans of Ricky should enjoy the boxing descriptions and the humour.

Ricky Hatton – or, more accurately, his ghost writer, Niall Hickman (although he has captured Ricky’s ‘voice’ really well) tells some great stories, from Ricky’s life in and out of the ring. Describing what happens in a boxing match isn’t easy, but Hatton/Hickman brings every fight to life. He also treats his opponents with extraordinary respect, whatever the result. So many celebrities see a biography as an opportunity to bad mouth pretty much anyone they can. Hatton is nice about everyone. Even when he doesn’t get on with someone, he is as tactful as he can be, and never ignores their positive points. It’s very refreshing.

Ricky also has a great sense of humour. Some of his stories are hilarious, all of them extremely well told. It’s easy to imagine this is exactly how Ricky would describe it, word for word. The style is chatty but readable. He’s very honest, and, although confident in his abilities, he’s surprisingly modest. He seems like a really lovely man who really appreciates his fans, enjoying their company at least as much as their support.

The chapters in the book are called ‘Rounds’, which is appropriate in theory, but the thing about rounds is that they imply chronological order. Although Hatton clearly does have chronology in mind, he has a remarkable tendency to get sidetracked. He’ll start talking about a fight he’s preparing for, but then he’ll start talking about something that happened to him when he was a child that starts off being relevant, but then you get further and further from the subject in hand. Then he might go on to talk about his life as an amateur boxer… it’s all very interesting, but it’s sometimes frustrating when you’re looking forward to hearing about a fight, and Hatton will give you one really tantalising detail – and then you have to wait for ages to find out the rest.

Hatton does tend to assume that the people reading his book will know what’s going to happen before they read the book. It was probably reasonable for him to make the assumption that his book is not that likely to be read by people who don’t know who he is. His fight history includes just one defeat, and I should think all his fans will remember who beat Ricky, and when.

But I read the same books over and over again, and even though I know exactly what’s going to happen, I still get really excited and worried about what might happen. I get all caught up in the moment, and start hoping and dreading that something will/won’t happen. It’s the same with Ricky’s boxing matches. Each one is so thrillingly described – but, every so often, he will remind you (although not in a conceited way) of the fact he won it, and that brings the excitement levels down.

But in the end, Hatton seems to worked this out: the latest update, which includes Hatton’s fight against Floyd Merryweather in December last year, is wonderfully-written. I knew the result very well: I’d seen the reports, and would have watched the match if I’d had Setanta Sports. But it’s so vividly written, I kind of forgot all that and just got caught up in what Hatton was describing. It’s a shame Hatton didn’t write the whole of the book like this. But that doesn’t stop The Hitman from being a very good book.