ONE of British boxing’s most famous partnerships has to come to an end with the news that Ricky Hatton and Billy Graham have ended their 11-year association.

Following months of speculation about whether the pair would continue working together, Graham announced he would be retiring from the sport at the end of this week.

Hatton’s father Ray was quick to pay tribute to the role Graham had played in moulding his son into a world champion.

He said: "Ricky and Billy had a meeting in which Billy admitted he was not going any further.

"It was quite emotional because they have been together for so long.

"It’s a sad day. Billy will always be remembered as one of the world’s great trainers and to go out after a win in front of 58,000 people in Manchester will be a fitting end to his career.

"But everybody knew Billy had been struggling in recent years with a few health problems and it was becoming increasingly painful for him to train Ricky.

"We knew the bombshell was coming and it was just a question of when."

Rumours concerning a potential split started after Hatton’s defeat to Floyd Mayweather Jnr in Las Vegas last December when the pair did not arrive back at Manchester Airport together.

Those were furiously denied by both camps in the build-up to the Hitman’s fight with Juan Lazcano at the City of Manchester Stadium.

That was the night when Hatton’s younger brother Matthew lost his bid for the Commonwealth welterweight belt, culminating in his departure from the Phoenix Camp.

Hatton is now likely to be trained by Graham’s assistant Lee Beard for his upcoming fight against Paul Malignaggi.

He will sit down with his team to discuss a permanent replacement in due course.

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