Former junior featherweight world titlist Scott Quigg has announced his retirement from boxing.
Quigg hinted that he would think about retirement following a hard-fought 11th-round knockout loss to Jono Carroll in their junior lightweight main event on Saturday at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.
After some thought, Quigg, of England, made it official, writing on Instagram that it “wasn’t my night and it showed me it was time to call it a day! It’s been a great journey & I couldn’t of given the sport any more and it’s been a pleasure working alongside [promoter] Eddie Hearn.
“I’ve achieved everything my desire, dedication and ability would take me to and I can walk away with my head held high! Thank you to everyone for the tremendous support over the years.
“When all is said and done, as long as you can look yourself in the mirror and know you gave it everything, you can never have any regrets.”
Hearn responded to Quigg, offering him good wishes in retirement.
“Well done mate — you are a great example not just to fighters but to us all about hard work ethic, drive and determination,” Hearn wrote. “Now to enjoy your life!”
Quigg (35-3-2, 26 KOs), 31, who boxed professionally for 13 years, won the British junior featherweight title in 2011. In 2012, he knocked out Rendall Munroe in the sixth round of a rematch of their third-round technical draw to win an interim world title.
Quigg was elevated to full titleholder in 2013 and made six defenses before meeting Carl Frampton in a long-anticipated and heavily hyped 122-pound title unification fight in February 2016, also in Manchester.
Frampton broke Quigg’s jaw in the fourth and won a split decision, but the lackluster fight did not come close to living up to the hype. When he returned, Quigg won three fights in a row and then got a featherweight world title shot against Oscar Valdez in March 2018.
Quigg traveled to Carson, California, for the bout but ultimately was not eligible to win the 126-pound belt because he came in 2½ pounds over the 126-pound weight limit. Valdez went through with the fight anyway and won a brutal slugfest in which he suffered a broken jaw.
Quigg rebounded for a second-round knockout of journeyman Mario Briones in October 2018 in Boston, but injuries sidelined him until Saturday’s fight with Carroll, a former junior lightweight world title challenger from Ireland.
Carroll (18-1-1, 4 KOs), a southpaw, dominated the fight against Quigg, who looked like a shell of his former himself. With Quigg obviously behind and taking punishment, Joe Gallagher, Quigg’s trainer, threw in the towel in the 11th round.
Right after the fight, Quigg hinted at retirement, saying, “As soon as I got in there, it didn’t feel like it was there. I was just chasing it. I’m a realist and I don’t kid anyone. This was a must-win fight. At my peak I would have won tonight. In my day, he wouldn’t have lived with me. On this performance, I don’t know what’s left. I gave it everything and I want to support everyone who has come out to support me. I couldn’t have achieved anymore. I’ve been world champion and had a great career. And if this is it, thank you, everyone.”