By Liam de Brun

Copyright manchestereveningnews

This Morning star Ben Shephard teared up on live TV as he paid an ‘absolutely heartbreaking’ tribute to Ricky Hatton, calling him a ‘man of the people’. Boxing fans around the world were left devastated on Sunday (September 14) by news of the 46-year-old Manchester native’s death . Ricky, who announced in July that he would return to the ring in a professional bout in Dubai in December, was found dead at his home in Hyde . Greater Manchester Police said they were not treating the death as suspicious. A police spokesperson said: “Officers were called by a member of the public to attend Bowlacre Road, Hyde, Tameside , at 6.45am today where they found the body of a 46-year-old man. There are not currently believed to be any suspicious circumstances.” Known for his all-action style and down-to-earth demeanour, Ricky was one of the most popular boxers in the world during the 2000s. With Amir Khan describing him as ‘a mentor, warrior and one of Britain’s greatest boxers’ and Tyson Fury branding him a ‘legend’, Ben paid tribute to Ricky on Monday’s (September 15) episode of This Morning . “I was lucky enough to spend some time with Ricky over the years, I had a Sports Relief bout back in 2008 and Ricky was my mentor and my coach. “He’d been a hero of mine for years, I loved my boxing and no one fought like Ricky Hatton. He fought like an absolute lion, was so humble and wore his heart on his sleeve. “To go to his gym, train with him, meet his team, he was so generous with his time, humour and energy. He was so down to earth. “I’d been able to spend some time with Soccer Aids and I’d interviewed him a number of times, he was always such a fabulous person to be with. To think he is no longer with us is absolutely heartbreaking,” he said. With his co-presenter Cat Deeley calling him a ‘man of the people’, Ben said Ricky ‘didn’t care who you were’. “He just wanted to spend time with and loved being around people,” he noted. Later in the segment, Ben shared that football pundit Chris Kamara was left ‘distraught’ by the news, with him and Ricky owning homes in Tenerife, next to each other. “He had a Dereck Trotter van, he was all about fun and banter with his mates and enjoying their company. He surrounded himself with people, he fed off their energy. “I spoke to Kammy [Chris Kamara], who was very good friends with him, Kammy was distraught. They had plans to meet up in the next month,” Ben said.