Ricky Hatton and Marco Antonio Barrera were briefly allowed to hog the spotlight one final time as they came together for an exhibition bout in Hatton’s Manchester backyard.
The entertaining pair, who both enjoyed legendary careers, put their friendship aside for 16 minutes as they provided fights fans with a dose of their brilliance from yesteryear.
Armed with respect for each other, both fighters were wary of attacks coming their way, and although they were able to find the target on multiple occasions, there was no real damage done.
Hatton, famed for his stunning body attacks that brought down great fighters such as Kostya Tszyu and Jose Luis Castillo, was on the front foot throughout, but Barrera was always able to fire back.
The energetic Mexican shared a ring with many greats such as Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Naseem Hamed, and although Hatton was a bigger man during their high-profile careers, he was able to withstand the Brit’s onslaught.
After eight rounds of action, the pair embraced as they likely shut the door on their respective fighting days.
The vocal crowd provided them with a passionate response and hopefully this can be the closure than both men require.