"I can confirm my return to the ring," Hatton tweeted. - Join me at a grand party - with the best performers - in Manchester on July 2. It's not about how you fall, it's about how you get up..."
Hatton, 43, held titles in two divisions and was the darling of the British boxing world throughout the 2000s. The 48-year-old Barrera has won titles in three divisions and, like Hatton, was highly respected in his homeland of Mexico.
Sky Sports reported that Hatton-Barrera is scheduled for eight rounds, and it is not yet clear at what weight the two veterans will fight.
This will be the first time Hatton (45-3, 32 KOs) has stepped into the ring since he retired in 2012 when Ukrainian Vyacheslav Senchenko knocked him out with a body punch in the ninth round in a welterweight bout . Before this fight, Hatton had a three-year break after a brutal early loss at the hands of Manny Pacquiao in 2009. In 2007, Hatton also lost ahead of schedule to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the 10th round.
Barrera (67-7, 44 KOs), on the other hand, is no stranger to exhibition fights. Last year, he met with Daniel Ponce de Leon and Jesus Soto Carass. In the pro ring, Barrera is best known for his legendary fights with Eric Morales, Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez and Naseem Hamed. Barrera's last professional fight took place in 2011, when he technically knocked out Jose Arias in the second round.
In an Instagram post, Hatton, who has had worrisome periods of depression since his retirement, said he was putting on gloves again due to mental health issues.
"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you can't do," Hatton wrote. - When you have mental health problems, your head constantly hears such things. You can't do this, you can't do that, no one loves you, I'm useless, I've had enough, I want to give up, etc., etc."
“I was in this position a few years ago. But then I changed my thinking and my attitude towards it. I decided to be positive in everything I did, like a father, like a grandfather, like a son, like a boxing coach. Like a man. By doing this, I can show everyone on July 2 what you can do and how you can turn your life back on track if you live by the rules, take the right steps, and make the necessary changes.”
“You can come out of the darkness into the light. Let's be positive. If you don't believe me, watch the show Barrera and I are putting on for you on July 2nd. We are retired, but we are not dead. I still have dreams, I live by them. We are defined not by how we fall, but by how we rise.”