Our man lost
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Mancunian Ricky Hatton was stopped in the 10th round by Floyd Mayweather in his bid to win the WBC welterweight title in Las Vegas. But few of the fans who turned up in his local pub to watch the fight felt he had let them down.
Hatton's defeat caused dismay among regulars at his local pub
The Hitman was down and, for the first time that night, Ricky's local fell silent - save for the din of the TV commentary.
The sight of Ricky Hatton on the canvas, outboxed and outpunched by his opponent Floyd Mayweather was almost too much for his loyal fans in the Lamb Inn in Gee Cross, just outside Hyde in Greater Manchester.
The sense of disbelief hung heavy in the air. Then, seconds after the referee waved the fight over, a deafening cry went up again - as it had all night.
"There's only one Ricky Hatton!" they chanted, over and over.
He may have been knocked out. He may have been defeated in the 10th round. But pride in a local hero was not dented so easily.
I cried. I really thought he was going to win tonight
Gemma Louise Abel
Hatton fan
Ricky Peak lives four doors away from Hatton's parents Ray and Carol and has known the fighter since he was a kid.
Eyes filling with tears, he admitted 'Richard' had been outclassed.
But he said nobody could take away the feeling of pride they felt in the "local lad".
He said: "The support for him here is unbelievable. And they'll stick with him. They'll carry on supporting him whatever, through thick and thin.
"He'll be here on Wednesday and we'll go have a beer with him. And then we'll look forward to his next fight."
Hatton wonderland
Gemma Louise Abel, 27 has known Ricky for five years. She said she was absolutely devastated but very proud.
"I cried. I really thought he was going to win tonight," she said.
"He's a lovely bloke and such a genuine guy. You see him out in Stalybridge or wherever, and it's not like he thinks he's famous. He just likes to be normal like all of us."
Hatton's friends and supporters had gathered in the Lamb Inn to watch the fight in the early hours of Sunday morning confident of victory.
Ricky's local was "walking in a Hatton wonderland", as the song goes, until Mayweather started to take control of the fight.
It doesn't matter that he didn't win. To us he's always a winner
David 'Jasper' Gee
Hatton fan
Before the fight defeat had been unthinkable.
The verdict of the Lamb Inn was: Mayweather to the slaughter and Ricky was the man to do it, possibly in as little as five or six rounds.
Pumped up by the sounds of Viva Las Vegas and Eye of the Tiger on the PA, they roared on their local hero whenever he appeared on one of the pub's two giant plasma screens.
But, on this historic night in Hyde, many of the pub's regulars were missing. Around 80 had joined the 20,000 British boxing fans in Vegas for the biggest fight in Ricky's life.
Geoff Monks, 50, said he had known Ricky for seven years.
Tucking into the pub's chicken curry and chips that Ricky enjoys between fights, he explained why Hatton's support was so solid.
Ricky Hatton's fans still consider him to be a hero
"The thing is, when he walks in here, nobody takes any notice. And that's because he's got no airs and graces. He's down to earth, just like you and me."
"And he's a City fan like me," he added, as he joined in a chorus of Blue Moon.
David 'Jasper' Gee, 38, is a friend of Ricky's brother Matthew, who won his fight on the Las Vegas undercard.
He summed up the feeling of most Hatton fans: "If Ricky had used his body punches like he normally does, I think he could have won it. I reckon if he has another go again, he'll know what to do and he'll have him next time."
"This was a fight though, wasn't it? It doesn't matter that he didn't win. To us he's always a winner, always."
