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James DeGale has announced his retirement following his unanimous points defeat by Chris Eubank Jr.<\/p>\nJames DeGale has announced his retirement following his unanimous points defeat by Chris Eubank Jr.<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old is a two-time world champion and 2008 Olympic champion and is the first British boxer to win both an Olympic gold medal and a professional world title.<\/p>\n
DeGale said in a statement: \u201cToday marks 10 years since my professional debut fight on February 28, 2009 and today is the day I am announcing my retirement from boxing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been an unbelievable journey and I\u2019ve had an amazing decade \u2013 if I\u2019m honest, the best years of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeGale rose to prominence after winning his first world title belt in the United States in 2015 against Andre Dirrell before defending it three times across the Atlantic.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cIt\u2019s hard to admit that I\u2019m not the fighter I once was, but I\u2019m human and along the way, my injuries have taken a toll \u2013 both on my mind and body and these things have contributed to my performance in the ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cI lost the fight on Saturday at the O2 but I\u2019m touched to have a good send-off from the fans in my home city.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud to say that I\u2019ve made history as the first ever British Olympian boxer to turn professional and to win a world title and I am also proud to have been a road warrior \u2013 to travel wherever I needed to be to fight and win. There\u2019s nothing left to prove.\u201d<\/p>\n
After beating Dirrell by a unanimous points decision in Boston in May 2015, southpaw DeGale claimed a unanimous victory against Lucian Bute in Bute\u2019s home state of Quebec, Canada.<\/p>\n
He made another successful title defense against Rogelio Medina in Washington DC in February 2016.<\/p>\n
DeGale\u2019s bid to unify his IBF world super-middleweight title with Badou Jack\u2019s WBC crown ended in a draw the following January.<\/p>\n
The Hammersmith-born fighter was then beaten by relative unknown Caleb Truax at the Copper Box Arena in December 2017 before winning his title back in April last year in a Las Vegas rematch.<\/p>\n
DeGale finishes his professional career with 25 wins, three defeats and one draw.<\/p>\n