Ricky Hatton: "I tried to kill myself several times"

British boxing legend Ricky Hatton has revealed that he tried to kill himself on several occasions during his battle with depression.

The 38-year-old admitted that the ending of his career, which had seen him take on the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao, left a huge gap in his life.

Hatton, who retired in 2012, told BBC Sport: "I tried to kill myself several times. I used to go to the pub, come back, take the knife out and sit there in the dark crying hysterically.

"There were times when I hadn't had a drink for days and I'd still come home and if something went through my mind I'd start pondering something. It was the same outcome whether I was having a drink or wasn't having a drink.

"But in the end I thought I'll end up drinking myself to death because I was so miserable. I was coming off the rails with my drinking and that led to drugs. It was like a runaway train."

Hatton won the world light-welterweight and welterweight titles during his career.