Ryan Burnett has announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 27.
The Belfast native, who represented Ireland at youth and amateur level, cited the impact of injuries in his decision.
"Although my retirement is forced through injuries, I carry a heart full of satisfaction and gratitude," he said.
"I have achieved my childhood dream and secured my future heath, which is something no amount of money or titles can provide."
Burnett enjoyed success at professional level, including world titles.
Ryan Burnett during the Nonito Donaire fight.In 2016, he won the vacant WBC International bantamweight title. He then followed that up in 2017 with the IBF bantamweight title.
He only suffered one loss in 21 fight which came against Nonito Donaire in November 2018.
Setbacks
But Burnett had suffered a "freak injury" to his back during that fight.
He later told our own OTB AM that "when I went out and threw that right hand - it just felt like someone had pulled my insides out. It was excruciating."
Six months after that defeat to Donaire, he did win a comeback fight against Jelbirt Gomera in Belfast.
The 2018 injury was not the first setback Burnett had to deal with during his career.
In June 2017, he spoke to us about a previous brain issue earlier in his career that almost stopped his progress in its tracks.
"One day, I was in Manchester and I got a phonecall from a neurologist and he simply said, 'You've got a brain problem and you're not going to be able to box again' and my whole world fell down around me. It was over even before I'd begun and it was the beginning of a rocky road," he said.
You can also find the full Andy Lee Off The Ball interview with Ryan Burnett from March 2018 right here.
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