Former World champion Wayne McCullough quit on his stool and then announced his retirement from the ring this morning after his fight in the Cayman Islands.
McCullough, from Belfast but based in Las Vegas throughout his career, was returning to the ring after three years against American Juan Ruiz in their NABF featherweight title fight.
Despite being ahead on two of three judges scorecards after six rounds, the former WBC bantamweight champion, who went the distance with Naseem Hamed, told his corner he could not go on.
McCullough, who turns 38 next month, took the microphone in the ring and subsequently revealed this would be his swansong.
He said: ‘I think this is my last fight and I want to thank you all for coming. I'm disappointed with the way things went but I just felt I couldn't go on.’
McCullough had not fought since losing a WBC super bantamweight title fight against Oscar Larios in Las Vegas in 2005.
His first professional bout was in 1993, seven months after winning an Olympic silver medal in Barcelona.
In July 1995 McCullough claimed his world championship by beating WBC bantamweight champion Yasuei Yakushiji.
He defended the belt on two occasions against Johnny Bredahl and Jose Luis Bueno.
McCullough relinquished the title because of weight difficulties and then lost on points to the veteran Daniel Zaragoza in a WBC super bantamweight bout in 1997.
The Belfast man went the distance against Naseem Hamed and Erik Morales, but was outpointed on both occasions.
McCullough was then sidelined after a British Boxing Board of Control scan found a small cyst in the arachnoid space between the brain and the skull.
After a two-year battle, however, he was back in the ring again and earned earned a bout with WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison but suffered a punishing defeat.
McCullough later lost two world title bouts against Oscar Larios.
