Quotes from Ricky Hatton

If, and when, I do eventually decide to retire, the announcement will be made by myself. I feel that I have earned the right to do it myself.

We are very proud of our roots in Manchester. We like to back our own.

I always loved training to get fit, make all those sacrifices that you do, but it just wasn't there after Pacquiao.

No. 1 career highlight? It would have to be getting the MBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.

Boxers don't tend to come from Cambridge or Oxford. Sometimes the things we say don't come out well. We are not known for our vocabulary.

I never manufactured my persona.

It makes me very, very happy to get someone a world title shot, which I've done with a few fighters, or a European title shot or a British title, and I see them lift that belt above their waist and they come to me and say 'Thanks Ricky. I've just paid my mortgage off with that.' That's what its all about.

There's no better feeling in the world than when I walk in a pub, or a nightclub or a bar or a supermarket, anywhere, and you see people out the corner of your eye and they're going, 'Hey, there's Ricky Hatton. Isn't he a good lad, coming for a pint with us in here?' It makes you feel proud.

If boxing had a professional boxing association or something like that, I think it would be a better place.

I feel happier about things, I don't blame myself over the losses.

You know if you want to be a boxer the first time you get hit on the nose.

I know how hard it is to come back from a brutal KO.

Once I got beat by Mayweather I felt so ashamed. I cancelled all my functions, all my appearances, I didn't want to walk down the street. I was too embarrassed to even go and have a pint with my mates.

I went to the darts, went to the football, had a little pint, no airs and graces. I think that's why I had the fan base I had.

Right from the beginning I wanted to test myself against the best, against real champions.

When I got successful and people started talking about me, I didn't want anyone thinking I thought I was a 'big time Charlie.'

You can't let a man like this beat you.

The manner of my defeat against Mayweather and certainly Manny Pacquiao was a bitter pill to swallow.

Would I change anything? I don't know, that's a double edge sword for me.

Because of my style, I always make hard work of my contests.

The thing is with boxers we don't come from Cambridge and places like that, we come from council estates. So in boxing it's very, very hard.

You can't kid the public. When they see me they see I'm just a kid off a council estate - no more, no less.

People say, 'We remember the good times.' Well I remember the bad times.

Mayweather was my first professional defeat and I took it really, really hard.