In memory of Ricky Hatton, Darren Barker’s brutal challenge goes on and on

Red Hot Chili Peppers were playing on the radio right before Darren Barker got the bad news: that his swim across the English Channel, the centrepiece of his brutal fitness challenge, could not go ahead. Even now, in his tired state, Barker musters the energy to air drum the chorus and sing the refrain. “Give it away, give it away, give it away now. I was absolutely buzzing… It was probably 10 to 20 seconds later, I got the bad news.”

So much of Barker’s challenge is about overcoming adversity, however. “The Longest Round”, he has called it, as he swims and cycles almost 2,000 miles to raise money for the mental-health charity Calm (Campaign Against Living Miserably), in memory of his late friend Ricky Hatton.

The challenge was set up as such: Barker, 44, would cycle from Edinburgh to Dover, swim the English Channel, cycle from Calais to Gibraltar, then swim across the Strait into Morocco. Barring dangerous waters denying “Dazzling” Darren his swim across the Channel, his endeavour has gone smoothly – as smoothly as possible for a feat so gruelling. He made up the distance of the channel, 21 miles, by swimming in other open waters.

When we speak, a week has passed since Barker began the challenge. Almost a year has passed since Hatton’s untimely death. Barker is somewhere in France. He can only wish Hatton was, too.

Barker, who has long worked as a boxing commentator, was the last person to interview the Mancunian icon, five days before his passing at the age of 46. It would go without saying that Barker thinks of Hatton often. Still, I put it to him. Initially, there is simply a solemn nod. Barker looks weary, no doubt from an arduous day of cycling, but you get the feeling the memory of his friend is heavier than Barker’s legs.

“It’s so funny you say that,” Barker says, admitting that this is the first day when the memory of Hatton has proven particularly visceral. “It’s the first day that I’ve cycled on my own. I’ve had people join me throughout the the UK, but they go off and leave me, so there was a lot of time where…” Barker interrupts himself. “I can go off on one, by the way, so if I start ranting, it’s…”

It’s totally fine. With any lucky, it will even be therapeutic.

“I am very co-dependent, I’m always with someone,” Barker admits. “I’m with my wife all the time, and if I’m not with her, I’m calling her. Or I’m with my kids. I was a little bit apprehensive, this is probably the bit I was more nervous about. It wasn’t the swim, or the cycling a ridiculous amount of miles; it was the time that I was going to be on my own. Today I had that time.

“The issues with mental health that I might have are all around grief, losing people, time progressing, you know? Like, I could go on and on and on. But today, there was this long, straight road. It was relentless, one of them roads that you see in America where it seems like they just don’t stop. And I’ll admit, I was starting to think about all the people that I’d lost in my life.

“I had mixed emotions, you know? On one part, I was remembering all the good times, and I was smiling. Then there was times where I had a tear in my eye, and that probably went on for a good chunk of the the cycle. Obviously, Ricky’s memory popped up, and how great he was, how much of a superstar he was, how much of a hero he was for me – in and out of the ring, someone we all looked up to.”

I can empathise. Whenever I’m on a challenging run, words of advice from an old family friend enter my mind. That friend sadly took their life 12 years ago.

Of course, a half-marathon – however draining – does not come close to what Barker is enduring.

“The swim was brutal,” he concedes. “Yesterday was a tough, tough day. I would say arguably tougher than if I was going to swim the Channel. It’s exploring the unknown. I feel that, when I get into Spain, going through the Pyrenees is going to be absolutely brutal.”

But? “I do feel I’m made to do this, honestly. There’s something within me that is just… I’m able to push through.

“I’m not going to win any races when it comes to cycling, but I think I could outlast a lot of people. The reason I feel I can keep going is the ‘why’, the ‘what’, the ‘who’. This challenge is just the microphone for me to get the message out there, you know? I’m just the man on the bike, but I think we’re all pulling together.”

Indeed, while Barker – who has been fuelled by Just Eat along the way – has raised over £33,000 at the time of writing, raising awareness is surely an accomplishment of even-greater significance.

“I’m meeting people, we’re stopping and talking to people,” he says, with fellow ex-world champions Tony Bellew and Barry Jones having joined him for stretches of his mission. “We’re sharing stories, troubles. Together, we’re all making a difference in our own little way.”

Conversations around mental health have certainly moved forward in recent years. But does Barker think boxing, so often seen as a hyper-masculine sport, is lagging behind?

“The nature of the beast is almost the issue here,” he says. “You’re always trying to show no signs of weakness, and that unfortunately filters into normal life. You’ve got this personality to kind of live up to. You don’t want your opponent seeing that you could be vulnerable, so you’re always trying to put on a brave face, you can’t let your guard down at all.

“I was very lucky, because I’ve got a very close family that are there for me, and my trainer Tony was very sympathetic. As old school as he is, he was very understanding that we’re all made a little bit different, so he was so good at man-managing all of us individually. Still, you sometimes feel like you can’t really have these conversations. It really is tough.

“I’ve never pretended to be a hard man; I never have been, I never will be. But I think if someone was to see me – and the likes of Tony Bellew and Barry Jones, former world champions – having conversations, someone watching might think: ‘If these so-called tough men can have these conversations, so can I.’”

You can donate to “The Longest Round” via Just Giving. If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, help is available at Calm.

You can also speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI) or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.