Former WBC cruiserweight titleholder Tony Bellew officially announces his retirement

Tony "Bomber" Bellew who held the WBC cruiserweight title from 2016 to 2017, has officially announced his retirement.

"Thank you first and foremost for all the support I have had over the years and all the support I have been shown from the fans from the negative naysayers to the purest of fans I have got thank you very much, but today I am announcing that I am officially retired. There will be no more fighting from me, the only things you will see me doing from here on in is trying to act sensible and being myself," Bellew said.

"I have had a fantastic career and have realized my dreams, and on the 29th May 2016 my wildest dream came true, I became WBC Cruiserweight champion of the world at Goodison Park, the dream location, the dream title, the dream ending a third-round knockout of Ilunga Makabu. It has been a story, it has been a journey, a British, a Commonwealth, a European title also secured along the way and various journeys and stories that I have got to go over the years so thank you for your support and guys I am officially retired. Goodbye."

Bellew, who also held the British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles between 2010 and 2014, and the European cruiserweight title from 2015 to 2016, added that no purse could lure him back into the ring.

"Eddie gets 100 million together for me and offers me one more fight, what do I say? Wow, wow, that is probably what I would say. Wow, wow and then walk into the missus and say Eddie has come on board with 100 million and she would probably hand me divorce papers. Money is good, but money comes and goes, that is the best way of saying it."

Bellew was knocked out last week in the eighth round of a cruiserweight world title unification fight by undisputed, undefeated world champion Oleksandr Usyk.