Saturday 15 November 2014 19:10, UK
Former European and British champion John Murray has been forced to retire at the age of 29.
The Manchester lightweight has had two operations on a detached retina, but doctors ordered him to hang up his gloves or risk permanent blindness.
Murray told ITV: “I’ve had 20/20 vision for my whole life, but at the moment I can hardly see anything out of my right eye.
“I’ve been told that if I keep taking punches I could go completely blind. It’s just not worth it anymore.”
I’ve been told that if I keep taking punches I could go completely blind. It’s just not worth it anymore.
Murray won 33 of his 36 fights and also fought in the US. He won both of his bouts in Las Vegas and was chief support to Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito at Madison Square Garden, where he missed out on the WBA world lightweight title after losing on an 11th round TKO to Brandon Rios.
“I’ve had a glorious career, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “I’m happy with what I’ve achieved. When you’re younger you don’t think about the possibility of going blind. You get a black eye and it’s gone in a couple of weeks. You don’t ever think it’s going to have an effect like this."
Murray has already begun working as a boxing trainer and has opened his own gym, which is helping him come to terms with the end of his boxing career.
“Everything that I’ve made from boxing has gone into this; it has to work,” he said. “I’ve put all of my time and effort into it. I’ll make sure it works.
“Watching these lads fight and train, and watching them getting their hands raised at the end of it and seeing how happy they are; that gives me more of a buzz than I was getting at the end of my career. I really do enjoy it.”
