By Rob Williams

Copyright manchestereveningnews

Back in 2006 Ricky Hatton was preparing to face Luis Collazo for the WBA welterweight title. In a press conference ahead of the contest, Hatton’s debut at that weight division, he was asked by a journalist what makes a ‘good champion’. His answer was remarkably revealing about his character. The ‘Hitman’ responded by saying: “I think what makes a good champion is the people you run against, your regularity, you know, and the way you conduct yourself outside the ring as well. “There’s no point in being the greatest fighter in the world if everybody thinks you’re a dickhead, you know?” After the Manchester Evening News broke the story yesterday that Hatton had been found dead at his home there was a huge outpouring of grief, from Manchester and beyond. A big part of that response was down to the character of this scrappy Manc fighter who never forgot his roots or his people. Welcome to Unmissable, our weekly digest of stories we think you might have missed. This week’s edition focuses on our coverage of the tragic death of Ricky Hatton. Damon Wilkinson was tasked with the difficult job of capturing the extraordinary life of Ricky Hatton in an obituary. This is often one of the trickiest jobs in journalism, summarising the essence of a life full of complexities and contradictions. Damon’s obit is a beautiful piece of writing full of revealing quotes, my favourite of which is this one where he’s talking about his home town of Hattersley: “What I love most about the place is that the people don’t treat me like a world champion. “When I walk in the pub they say: “Come on, Fatty, get the drinks in, it’s your round.” I get treated like everybody else. It’s nice, I can be myself, not flannelled up and famous. In Hattersley I’m just Ricky”. You can read the obituary here. Hatton was a brilliant fighter but also a fantastic raconteur a talent that Dianne Bourne reflected on in her piece about him, writing that: “He was a man who simply had funny bones, perhaps that’s what helped him roll with all the punches in his career, and the highs and lows in his personal life.” You can read her thoughts on him here. As I write the Unmissable newsletter every week I don’t usually feature my own articles, but I’ll make an exception this week. I was asked to write a comment piece about Hatton’s death and what stood out for me was how loved he was, how down to earth he was and what an extraordinary talent he was. You can read my thoughts on how he really was ‘one of us’ here. Obviously there was really only one story in town yesterday but I’d like to mention one other unrelated piece. Beth Abbit’s revealing and worrying investigation into Ketamine in our schools was widely read and lifted the lid on a new and frightening phenomenon in schools. You can read it here. Ricky Hatton, an iconic Mancunian hero, has passed away at the age of 46. You can read the obituary here. Ricky will be remembered for entertaining in and out of the ring, with his ability to make anyone laugh, as fondly recalled by the MEN’s Dianne Bourne. You can read her thoughts on him here. From Hattersley to the world stage, the ‘Hitman’ never lost touch with his roots – or with the people of Manchester who loved him, writes Rob Williams. Read it here. Friends in Ricky Hatton’s local The Queen Adelaide in Hyde have told of their shock at his death. Read it here. SPECIAL REPORT: Experts say school-aged children are taking ketamine in Piccadilly Gardens , the park and in the toilets at school – in fact, it’s “a bit of an epidemic”. Beth Abbit reports on a worrying new trend. You can read it here.