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Ricky Hatton said he believes he would have retired tonight even if he had managed a win.

He said: "I got in the best shape I possibly could but if I hadn't been hit with that body shot I would have just scraped over the line with a points win and I honestly think I would still be telling you all the same thing."

A fighter knows and I know it isn't there any more. It's too many hard fights, I've burned the candle at both ends, I've put my body through the mire in and out of the ring but it doesn't matter how hard I train, I couldn't have done any better.

I'm a happy man tonight. I don't feel like putting a knife to my wrists. I have got the answers I needed. I got the opportunity and I got the answers and no matter how upsetting it is, I have got to be a man and say it is the end of Ricky Hatton.

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Ricky Hatton announced his retirement from boxing after his ninth-round knockout by Vyacheslav Senchenko in Manchester, insisting: "I needed one more fight to see if I had still got it - and I haven't."

An emotional Hatton said he would devote his future to his family and his promotional activities after coming to the conclusion to call it a day despite having initially suggested he may consider fighting on.

A badly bruised Hatton said: "I found out tonight it isn't there no more. I'm a straight-shooter and I tell the truth. I can look at myself in the mirror and tell myself I did my best, but there is always an excuse to find."

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Ricky Hatton announces his retirement from boxing. "I haven't got if anymore. That's the end of Ricky Hatton."

From @DanielHewittITV on Twitter: (12:12 am, Sun 25 Nov 2012)

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Ricky Hatton said he was not going to make any hasty decisions after he was beaten by a body shot.

He said: "I hurt him a few times, and I was winning.

"It was a good shot, I should have realised he was looking for that.

"I suppose that is what three-and-a-half years out of the ring does. I think I did alright - this guy only lost his unbeaten record in his last fight.

"I don't want to make any hasty decisions but I am really heartbroken. I am just gutted. I am not a failure, that is not how my career should end but I have to have a good think about it now."

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Ricky Hatton cut a dejected figure in the ring after recovering from the crunching body shot which gave Vyacheslav Senchenko victory and stunned a previously raucous, 16,000-strong MEN Arena crowd into silence.

Hatton's trainer Bob Shannon admitted his boxer seemed to be distracted by the explosive atmosphere that the Manchester Arena provided.

"He wouldn't give me any eye contact when we were in the ring and the noise was that bad when I was trying to get him to work his jab," he said.

He added: "We're really, really disappointed. We knew the opponent was an excellent opponent. He was getting caught coming in. He lost his concentration probably after the fourth round and was getting caught."

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Ricky Hatton has failed in his attempt to revive his boxing career as he was stopped by a body shot in round nine.

The Hitman made a solid start to the bout, but was left distraught after he was beaten by Vyacheslav Senchenko with a heavy punch to the body

Ricky said: "I thought I was four rounds up, but there are obviously signs of ring rust. I hurt him a couple of times."

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Ricky Hatton says he is "happy with my body, happy with my mind" ahead of his comeback fight tonight against Ukrainian Vyacheslav Senchenko at Manchester Arena.

To see a video of Hatton previewing the fight, visit ITV Granada.

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• UK
• boxing
• Ricky Hatton