Former Featherweight Titleholder Patrick Hyland Announces Retirement From Boxing

Former world featherweight champion Patrick Hyland announced his retirement from the sport of boxing.

In a statement, Hyland said that he believes the time is right for him to hang up his gloves and retire from competing in the squared circle.

"After 24 years in boxing and 12 years to the day that I made my professional debut the time seems right to announce my retirement from the sport I've loved my whole life," Hyland said. "There are so many people who have helped me on my journey, first and foremost of course is my dad. I owe everything to him. From Day 1, he showed me everything I know and the last year has been so hard without him since he passed."

Hyland's father, Patrick "Paddy" Hyland Sr., committed suicide in June 2015. Hyland said that not having his father in his corner was especially tough for him towards the end of his career.

"Fighting a guy who I believe to be a future Hall of Famer in Gary Russell for the world title and another world class talent in Josh Warrington would have been difficult at any time, but without my dad in my corner those tasks were made even harder," Hyland's statement read. "However, I can retire with the knowledge that I tested myself against some of the very best in the sport on the biggest stages."

Hyland sports a 31-3 record as a professional boxer. He lost his last two fights against Russell and Warrington, both of those fights being featherweight title bouts. He has also won a number of national and international world titles as both a featherweight and super featherweight.