"He was suicidal, he was heavily drinking"- Ricky Hatton reveals how he got back into boxing shape

Ricky Hatton has revealed how he recovered from an extremely dark place where he was severely overweight and thinking about ending his life.

Hatton is set to make his return to the boxing ring after 10 years as he takes on fellow boxing legend Marco Antonio Barrera. The fight will be an exhibition contest which will take place on July 2 at the AO Arena in Manchester.

The former two-weight division world champion's struggles with drugs, depression and weight gain have been well-documented. However, 'The Hitman' has lost an outstanding amount of fat recently and is in phenomenal shape.

Watch Hatton's epic new training montage:

Here's what Hatton said in an interview with Ariel Helwani:

"Come watch me on July 2nd and go 'oh my lord, you remember Ricky Hatton a few years ago, how fat he was, he was suicidal, he was heavily drinking, he was into drugs.' Look what you can do when you put your mind to something. If one person notices that then it's been a success."

Watch the full interview on Helwani's YouTube channel:

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Ricky Hatton plans on staying in shape after the Marco Antonio Barrera fight

Ricky Hatton continued by expressing how he wants to avoid gaining excess weight in the future as he wants to live a healthier lifestyle.

"I think this is a lifestyle change for me. I can't make a comeback every time I want to shift a bit of weight. The fact that I have had this opportunity again, get me weight down, looking healthy. I'm getting a huge buzz of people saying how well I look. If I go back to the old Ricky and back up to 210, 215 [pounds], we can't put an exhibition on every time."

The former Unified Super Lightweight Champion is one of the most popular British boxers of all time. During his successful career, he was known for ballooning up in weight in between training camps.

Regardless, Hatton always managed to cut down before a fight and recorded impressive victories over Kostya Tszyu, Paul Malignacci and Jose Luis Castillo.

Watch the fight highlights between Hatton and Tszyu:

Now 43 years old, 'The Hitman' does not possess the same level of athleticism compared to his prime. However, fans can look forward to an entertaining spectacle between two boxing legends on July 2 between Ricky Hatton and Marco Antonio Barrera.