Inside Ricky Hatton's romance with Claire Sweeney to 'knocking out' Stephen Mulhern

Boxing champion Ricky Hatton has sadly died at the age of 46 as tributes have poured in from the sporting world. The boxing icon was found at his home in Hyde, Greater Manchester, the police have confirmed. The legend, otherwise known as The Hitman, was also known for his tumultuous love life outside the ring and recently took part in the ITV show, Dancing On Ice. He starred on the ITV series of the skating competition in January 2024 and his memorable appearance caused quite a stir. From finding romance with his fellow co-star to almost "knocking out" the show host Stephen Mulhern.

The boxing legend met Coronation Street legend Claire, 54, on ITV's Dancing On Ice in January and they were inseparable since. The pair were recently spotted arm-in-arm during a lively pub crawl in Greater Manchester. Claire, who was happily single, fell for the boxing champion and was swept off her feet by his charm, leading to an "electric chemistry".

A source told the Mirror: "The chemistry was electric. Ricky went out of the show early on but he contacted her afterwards and let's say he started wooing her. They've been out on several dates."

They added: "They've been seeing each other quite a bit. He is completely besotted."

"It seems like an unlikely match but he's always had a way with women. They fall for his personality, and Claire has. He knows her number one priority is her son so they are being very careful. Let's watch this space."

However, things weren't to last between the pair as things ended in December 2024. It was reported their romance fizzled out but they remained good friends.

Ricky made headlines when he cheekily attempted to "knock out" Dancing On Ice host Stephen Mulhern.

The ITV presenter was punched by the former boxer in a staged skit, he admitted that it actually hurt.

At the time, Stephen admitted said that he is still "bruised" from an injury sustained when Ricky "punched" him during the theatrical moment live on air.

Stephen told The Sun: "I said to Ricky, do us a favour...Holly will say to you 'just punch him Ricky', which she said off the cuff initially and I said 'we should do that live.'"

"Obviously I forgot he's a three-time world champion boxer."

During the skit, the pair were pretending to have a disagreement when Mulhern asked Hatton to hold a microphone for him in the style of one a boxing announcer would use. After Mulhern had finished his bit to the camera, Hatton dropped the microphone.

Mulhern, who looked unimpressed with the boxer, pulled up Hatton's arm to put the microphone back to his mouth, but when he did, Hatton landed a blow on his arm.

After the episode aired, Hatton wrote on X/Twitter: "Ricky even landing knockout blows on @dancingonice! Hope you're okay @StephenMulhern."

Mulhern responded to the moment, writing: "I'm already starting to bruise!"