‘Amazing’painting of legendary boxer Ricky Hatton to raise funds for charity

A painting of boxing legend Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton captured in his victorious scream is to be auctioned off to raise money for the fighter’s charitable foundation. 

Created by British Mancunian artist Danny Cawley, the painting has been called “amazing” by Hatton’s closest friends and features the two-weight world-champion inside a blue moon in a nod to Hatton pre-fight entrance music BlueMoon, as performed by Supra.
All proceeds from the sale will go to the Ricky Hatton Foundation, which works to raise awareness, educate, and support mental health and wellbeing through boxing, football and other sports. The painting will be auctioned through the Ricky Hatton Foundation with details of the sale expected soon.
A special edition t-shirt and hoodie designed by Danny, featuring the same iconic image of Ricky, are now available at bluemoonrising.co.uk with a further donation from every sale going to the Foundation. 

Danny first met Ricky in 2014 at the boxer’s famous Hyde gym. Danny had recently started his Blue Moon Rising project based on his painting celebrating Manchester City’s 2012 Premier League. He gifted that first painting to his friend, musician Damon Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy, but soon after Ricky became one of 84 people worldwide to commission their own version of the work. Ricky, who was also a Manchester City fan, hung the painting in his Market Street gym. 

Blue Moon Rising – Ricky Hatton Tribute, and artist Danny Cawley

Speaking about Danny’s new tribute, Hatton’s manager Paul Speak said: “The artwork from Danny is amazing, it captures the fighting spirit of Ricky Hatton and the blue moon for his love of Manchester City. I know Ricky would love this piece of artwork, and a big thank you to Danny for supporting the Ricky Hatton Foundation.” 

Over the last 30 years, Danny Cawley has become a well-respected abstract artist whose work has been collected by many famous names from the world of music and sport, including The Charlatans’ drummer Jon Brookes, Happy Mondays vibes man Bez, The Verve’s Simon Jones, Inspiral Carpets’ founding organist Clint Boon, Wags of Black Grape and Paris Angels, and several well-known footballers. His Blue Moon Rising t-shirt went on to sell thousands and was stocked in the gift shops of many of Manchester’s key cultural attractions.

Talking about his memories of Ricky and the motivation behind the painting, Danny said: “I decided while at Ricky’s funeral in Manchester Cathedral to honour Ricky with this painting. Ricky was always really welcoming and really helpful with my Blue Moon Rising merchandise, never turning down photo shoots and not asking for a penny. “This is a fantastic opportunity for me to give something back to honour Ricky and his legacy and friendship, and to give something back to a cause that’s close to my heart, as I have had my own battles with addition and mental health.” 

Ricky, who tragically died in September 2025, also spoke openly and honestly about his struggles with mental health, and his courageous advocacy gave many others the strength to share their battles.