Ryan Rhodes announces his retirement from boxing

[IRLangmaid25]

He has been a wonderful ambassador for British boxing over the last 17 years and like everyone else on here I wish him a fantastic retirement and I hope he has great success in whatever he does whether it is in boxing or not because I think he would make a great trainer and a knowledgable and passionate commentator/analyst.

Thanks for the memories Ryan.

[nelsoninfour]

watched from sunday in the metrodome to big nights at o2.
met ryan at the hoover dam strangely he was with his brother and some freinds.
what a decent lad and high five to his bro

[BasqueCountry]

He's been one of my favourite fighters. Good luck to him in his new life.

[black panther]

His ascension to the lonsdale belt in record time was flamboyous, the banter with Takaloo amusing, the loss to Blundell shocking, the return to lightmiddleweight British champ emotional, the war with Moore thrilling and the loss to Alvarez brave. He had a career to be proud of; so many memorable nights and fights. Thank you Ryan and all the best in retirement

[Counter-puncher]

It was a classy thing Dave Coldwell did today - inviting a few of the press for a sit down to give Ryan a chance to announce his retirement properly rather than it leaking or being done in public or off the back of a show.

A classy thing for a classy guy in Ryan Rhodes.

http://news.boxrec.com/news/2012/ryan-r ... res-boxing

indeed

[Crazyboy]

It was a classy thing Dave Coldwell did today - inviting a few of the press for a sit down to give Ryan a chance to announce his retirement properly rather than it leaking or being done in public or off the back of a show.

A classy thing for a classy guy in Ryan Rhodes.

http://news.boxrec.com/news/2012/ryan-r ... res-boxing

completely agree with that, nice touch indeed and deserveredly so.

[twenty six]

Glad you enjoyed it, Ian.
The whole affair went extremely well.
We're working hard now to put together a Testamonial Dinner in Sheffield that he so richly deserves.

[J]

He has been a wonderful ambassador for British boxing over the last 17 years and like everyone else on here I wish him a fantastic retirement and I hope he has great success in whatever he does whether it is in boxing or not because I think he would make a great trainer and a knowledgable and passionate commentator/analyst.

Thanks for the memories Ryan.

x2 well said.

[Wrists]

Have a soft spot for Rhodes.

Around the time of the Silky Jones fight was when I started getting into boxing in a big way and as such I have fond memories of this time.

What a great fighter, great lad (dont know him but anyone can see that he is) and what a career he has had.

I wish him all the luck in the world.

Kevin

[los2]

never met him but always came across well....very level headed unlike his pal prince naz!....good luck to him.....lets hope he's looked after his money and can enjoy his retirement

[Bricks]

One of my favourite fighters has announced his retirement from boxing today. Ryan Rhodes has finally decided to call it a day and leave the ring for good. Not a total suprise considering the outcome of his last fight, but none the less, it's a little sad and i will miss watching Ryan fight having followed him all his career. Ryan seemed to be one of those fighters that just fell short of being a truely world class fighter. He could compete at that level and of course he fell short at his three attempts at gaining a world title, but Ryan was more of a european level fighter.

Great early promise to his career fell away to some bad losses later on, followed by some notable injury problems, only to see a late flourish to a career that can be seem overall as one to be very proud of. Ryan took Otis Grant all the way in a close fight for his first title tilt, lost to Gary Locket in his second and came up against the formidable Alvarez in his third and final world title challenge. Ryan was a solid professional, nice bloke and i enjoyed watching him and i am sad that i never got to see him win a world title. I wish Ryan all the very best in his retirement and i'm sure he will go on to do good things with his life and his family around him. I hope he stays in boxing in some capacity.

Thanks for the memories Ryan, top bloke, good professional, well respected in the game and you carved out a long boxing career of which you can be very proud. Boxing and Sheffield boxing will miss Ryan Rhodes.

He did it all and has a career to be proud of. Incredible longevity. Wasnt a top class top 5 man but few are. He was a top 12 guy and thats an incredible achievement

[Counter-puncher]

i still think if the chips had fallen a little more kindly he could have had a world belt.

[mickey1975]

i still think if the chips had fallen a little more kindly he could have had a world belt.

They couldnt have fell much kinder than Jason Matthews coming in at 5 days notice into more or less Ryan's back yard! He also did very well out of Naz's popularity early in his career.

[twenty six]

I think that's a little ungracious Mickey.
Matthews had more than 5 days notice. The Worthy One kept Schenk's withdrawal secret from Ryan until the last possible moment but Jason knew he'd got the assignment before Ryan. He was also massive at the weight and indeed had been in a training camp for 6 weeks and was ready.
Ryan had always been a small Middleweight.
Ryan had been preparing for the southpaw Schenk - Matthews was not.
It's evident that Ryan got caught in the headlights early in the fight but if you look back at it, Matthews took a couple of shuddering blows that Ryan was used to seeing the opponent not recover from.
I take nothing away from Matthews but your post reads as an intimation he was expected to lie down.
Best man won - simple as.
With regard to your intimation that Ryan's career ran on Naz's coat tails then I'll just smile sweetly.
Ryan has always had a solid following and I cannot recall many occasions when his purse has not been outsripped by a margin from his own ticket sales.
Speak to any Promotor he's been with.

[jim wright1]

Ryan Rhodes was the reason I started going to live boxing. What a fantastic ride it has been following Ryan for the last 20 years. Thankyou Ryan for the great nights and I wish you all the best in your retirement.

Great write-up Ian, taps into the psyche of most boxing fans feelings towards Ryan.

[mickey1975]

I think that's a little ungracious Mickey.
Matthews had more than 5 days notice. The Worthy One kept Schenk's withdrawal secret from Ryan until the last possible moment but Jason knew he'd got the assignment before Ryan. He was also massive at the weight and indeed had been in a training camp for 6 weeks and was ready.
Ryan had always been a small Middleweight.
Ryan had been preparing for the southpaw Schenk - Matthews was not.
It's evident that Ryan got caught in the headlights early in the fight but if you look back at it, Matthews took a couple of shuddering blows that Ryan was used to seeing the opponent not recover from.
I take nothing away from Matthews but your post reads as an intimation he was expected to lie down.
Best man won - simple as.
With regard to your intimation that Ryan's career ran on Naz's coat tails then I'll just smile sweetly.
Ryan has always had a solid following and I cannot recall many occasions when his purse has not been outsripped by a margin from his own ticket sales.
Speak to any Promotor he's been with.

I never meant any disrepect to Ryan at all! I like Ryan and have followed him since watching him at the Irish centre in Leeds as an amateur. I was at the Matthews fight supporting Ryan! What i meant is, he could not have really asked for a better chance. Thats all. The Naz comment was not meant to intimate anything. I think it did him and a few other guys from Wincobank a lot of favours Naz's relationship with Sky and FW at the time, thats all. I wish Ryan all the best for the future and am told he's a really good guy. I know people who have sparred him who have said the same.

[jameswilson]

Best of luck to him.

[Wake up call]

Cracking boxer and a top guy to boot.

Nice to meet 26 at the event as well.

There's a video here for anyone that's interested - http://www.hattonboxing.com/tv/news/201 ... conference

[twenty six]

Cheers mate - good to meet you as well.
I need a favour - shock horror !
I'll pm you pal.

[TJ77]

Just watched the press conference ..Sad news to hear Ryans not gonna fight again though its obviously the correct decision .
Personal highlight i will never forget that night in Bolton when he overcame all the odds and beat Jamie Moore.
Electric atmosphere from both sets of fans it was a top top night .
Its all been said really but to come out of any career let alone one that really is dog eat dog and demands such sacrifice with the respect of your fellow professionals and fans of boxing in general.
Let alone have given countless great performances winning titles on nights your friends and family will never forget i'd say thats a job well done .
Thankyou Ryan i hope Sky remember your not too shabby a pundit either you and Moorsey the Right said Fred of Boxing.