DANNY Whitaker has called time on his professional boxing career after just nine fights, but the 31-year-old insists he has no regrets.
The Silsden heavyweight ends with a 4-5 record, with his last bout seeing him lose to Billy Deniz on points last September.
It was not a struggle to get fights which forced Whitaker’s hand this summer though, more the desire to put his personal life first.
He told the Keighley News: “It was simply to do with family and work, because committing to boxing was getting too much alongside those two things.
“I was training and working, and then not really seeing my kids as much as I’d have liked.
“I had a good go at boxing, but I knew when I went into it that it wasn’t going to be for a long time.
“I made this decision so I could spend time with my family and focus on work.”
Whitaker admitted things could have been different had he beaten Chris Healey in their Central Area Heavyweight title fight last June.
Reflecting on that loss by a single point, the Silsden boxer said: “I trained my a**e off for that fight and put everything on the line.
“I took time off work for training and was the fittest I’d ever been.
“I got through the rounds okay in the ring but lost by a point, and it was then I felt I might not go much further in the sport.
“I’d say that defeat did act as a turning point, and that I might still be boxing had I won it.”
Whitaker had two fights after that one, losing both to currently unbeaten pair Johnny Fisher and Deniz.
The 31-year-old said: “Because I knew I was only going to be in the sport for a few years, I wasn’t going to say no if I got opportunities against good fighters.
“Those two fights I did say yes to at the end, I wasn’t in the best shape, but they came up at short notice, so I just got my head down and gave them a go.
“I have no regrets over my boxing career. I had some some good wins and some great experiences.”
Bradford boxers Amin Jahanzeb and Hamed Ghaz have English and Continental title fights respectively coming up over the next couple of months, and the sport appears to be thriving in these parts.
Whitaker wants to be a part of that still, saying: “There’s some real talent in the Bradford District, and I would love to coach boxing to kids, having done bits and pieces already.
“I wouldn’t want to do loads, as my family comes first, but it’s something I’m looking to do in the near future, just passing on my experiences in the sport in that way.
“I work in telesales, but I’m hoping I can manage it alongside that, as I think it would be a lot of fun to coach kids.
“I’m not wanting to make any money out of it, it’s more about how I can help out, because I don’t want to drop out of boxing altogether.”
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