Luke Littler pays tribute to Ricky Hatton as darts stars share what boxer was really like

Luke Littler has paid tribute to Ricky Hatton following the boxing star's tragic death. The darts superstar revealed he and his dad used to watch old boxing clips together, with some of the Hitman's fights among his favourites.

Hatton's passing was announced on Sunday morning, having been found dead at his Manchester home. Tributes from the world of sport have been flooding in ever since, with Littler sharing his heartfelt condolences.

Speaking to Express Sport at the launch of Target Darts' pop-up shop in Manchester, just a few hundred metres from where Hatton used to pack out the Arena for fights, Littler explained: "What I do, when I'm bored at night, I just go through old boxing fights and stuff like that. My dad was talking about it [Hatton's best bouts], the fight against [Manny] Pacquiao and [Floyd] Mayweather, where he's winning it. The ref was splitting it up."

Touching on how he found out about the former world champion boxer's passing, Littler continued: "Even when we found out, I think Chris Dobey and Ross Smith, they both said he was a proper lad. I think they said he was at the [World Darts] Matchplay for years and years on the run, but I never got the chance to meet him. It is sad."

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Littler-mania has swept the world of darts in recent years, in a way reminiscent of the hysteria surrounding Hatton when the Stockport-born star was packing out arenas for boxing fights. When quizzed about the similarities between darts and boxing, Littler agreed that the act of orchestrating a crowd as an individual sportsman is certainly a unique feeling. The 18-year-old said: "Definitely, I think Instagram, Facebook, everything's just full of Ricky. It is sad."

It's the beginning of a jam-packed schedule for Littler and his darting counterparts, with five ranked televised events to come between now and the turn of the year. Three of the five events are yet to be won by the teenage sensation, with Littler's next major assignment to come at the World Grand Prix next month.

World-leading darts manufacturer Target Darts opened the UK's ultimate darting pop-up experience in Manchester to celebrate their biggest-ever product launch. For more details on the latest darts products, please visit: www.target-darts.co.uk

On the impact his arrival in the sport has had, including the opening of Target Darts' store in Manchester city centre, Littler added: "Yeah, obviously it'll help to expand the sport but it'll expand us as players. It'll expand Target as well. But yeah it's brilliant what they've done. They've put the work in."

He concluded: "I know myself, I've changed the sport in many ways but for Target this is probably one of the biggest they have done. I think the last pop-up store was two years ago at the West Ham United ground but I know the work that everyone at Target has put into this. Us players, we do our job on the board and then it impacts on all the fans wanting to buy all our products."