Super middleweight scouser, Paul Smith, has called time on a proud career one year on from dropping a unanimous decision to WBA regular champion Tyron Zeuge.
On June 17, Smith tweeted a link to an Instagram message, which read:
“Today marks a year since my last fight, so now is as good a time as any to announce my retirement from fighting.
“In that fight, I was seeing things in my head that my body just couldn’t do and I felt my age in there. That fight wouldn’t have been a problem for me a year earlier.
“I ruptured a ligament in the right hand to add to it, needing an operation, the fifth of my career. The hand took a long time to get back to strength but my mind was made up after the fight.
“I talked with my wife and my brothers and the decision, although tough to say out loud, wasn’t tough to make. I’m healthy and I’m happy.”
The 35-year-old registered 38 wins in total, scoring 22 by knockout in a career spanning 45 bouts.
Smith held the British title on two occasions, latterly vacating to allow his younger brother Callum to challenge for it. Callum made sure the Lord Lonsdale belt remained strapped to a Smith waist by stopping Rocky Fielding in a career best performance.
Despite a gallant effort against WBO champion Arthur Abraham in their first contest, Smith fell short at world level three times.
Retired defensive genius Andre Ward inflicted a nine-round beat down on the Liverpudlian live on HBO. Smith battled to make weight and then battled through a sea of blood before the contest was waved off.
WBA champion George Groves knocked Smith out when they met for the British title back in 2011. Groves will be looking for a similar outcome when he faces Paul’s brother Callum in the final of the World Boxing Super Series in September.