SWINDON’s Jamie Cox has announced his retirement from professional boxing.

Cox, who walks away from the sport with a record of 25 wins and two defeats in an illustrious career which stretches over 20 years.

The 34-year-old southpaw’s career highlight came when he challenged George Groves for his WBA Super-middleweight title at London’s Wembley Arena back in 2017.

Since boxing for world honours, Cox has endured a turbulent time with inactivity, but had hoped to make a comeback last year, before COVID-19 further curtailed his plans.

Reflecting on his decision, Cox exclusively tells the Adver that he respects the sport too much to carry on, despite knowing he could still compete.

“It’s just one of things. As a person, I never mess around with the sport, however in the last few years I just haven’t been the same,” he said.

“I know I still have the ability to be involved in some good fights at a good level, but this is the right time for me to stop.

“It’s a decision I have been thinking about over a period of time, I’ve been out of the ring for a long time now and I respect boxing too much to not dedicate myself to it fully.

“Lockdown has made things difficult too, but at the same time I think it gave me time to think about what I want to do.”

Cox, who claimed gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2006 admits he is feeling a little ‘empty’ at the prospect of no longer being an active fighter.

However, the 34-year-old says he is looking forward to spending time with his family before looking at what the future holds for him but admits he would like to train and manage fighters further down the line.

“I’m just going to take it one step at a time, there is a bit of an empty feeling at the moment,” he added.

“I know I’ll be involved in boxing again at some point, whether that’s training them or managing them.

“For now, I have a few options that I couldn’t pursue before because I was too busy with boxing so I am looking forward to exploring those.

“Now I have a daughter too, boxing is a selfish sport and I’m just not at a stage in my life where I can be selfish enough to dedicate myself to it.”

Look out for another interview with Cox in next weeks’ Swindon Advertiser.