AFTER 21 years and just under nine of those as a professional, James Tennyson has confirmed the decision to bring the curtain down on his career with a record of 28-4.

The 28-year-old enjoyed an incredible journey, going on to fight for a world title while amassing a host of titles all the way from Irish to European from featherweight to lightweight.

Defeat to Jovanni Staffon in Manchester last May for the IBO lightweight strap left him with much soul-searching and while he recently stated his intention to return to the ring, on further reflection decided to call it a day.

Tennyson made his professional debut having just turned 19 when defeating Fikret Remziev in September 2012 by way of a fourth-round stoppage and knockouts would be a feature in his career as 24 of his 28 victories came inside the distance.

At St Kevin's Hall on April 27, 2013, Tennyson stopped Mickey Coveney in just his sixth outing to claim the Irish super-featherweight title and in doing so, became the youngest-ever national champion in the modern era.

A first career setback would come at the Odyssey Arena when he was stunned by Pavels Senkovs, but would rebuild his career on the small hall circuit to overcome Kris Hughes at the Andersonstown Leisure Centre in March 2015 for the Celtic featherweight title that would lead him towards a shot at British title shot against Ryan Walsh for the British title just over a year later at the CopperBox in London.

A weight-drained Tennyson was stopped in the fifth round and returned to super-feather, again rebuilding with some impressive wins to regain the Irish title with a win over Declan Geraghty and then the WBA International strap against Ryan Doyle.

Perhaps his best career win would come in typical Tennyson fashion as he returned to London in May 2018 to face Martin J Ward for the European and Commonwealth titles.

Always in exciting fights, it seemed Tennyson was again going to come up short as he was dropped by a body shot in the second round at Wembley Arena, but rose to battle back and overpower Ward in the fifth.

That earned him a crack at IBF world champion Tevin Farmer in Boston, but the American was too quick and slick to close the show in the fifth.

Again, the Poleglass man bounced back, this time at lightweight as he blasted through a number of opponents including Atif Shafiq for the WBA In terminational title and then Gavin Gwynne to claim the British.

A one-round demolition of Josh O'Reilly left him right back in the world title conversation, but his bid to take the IBO belt against Straffon came to a shocking end in the first round of their meeting in Manchester when the Mexican took advantage of a gung ho approach.

While the world title he craved would elude him, Tennyson can reflect on a quite remarkable career where he became one lot Ireland's best pros this century, always in exciting fights and did it the old school way, from the small hall to the biggest of nights and collecting every title possible outside of world.

In a statement on Saturday, the West Belfast man said: "Today I've made the decision to announce my retirement from boxing after an amazing 21 years training and fighting and living my dreams.

"I could never have imagined my life without boxing however after a well-needed break and plenty of time to reflect on my career, life, my son James and my partner Oonagh I have made a very tough decision to call it a day.

"Having surpassed my expectations by achieving a lot more in boxing than what I could ever have imagined, starting as a young kid with a bad temper to fighting for world titles, packed arenas and winning eight titles along my journey.

"I started with a loyal team who included my manager and mentor Mark Dunlop and my coaches Tony Dunlop and Daniel Boyle and together we plotted and carried out some amazing victories in both the home and away corners and it is with great pride today we finish together.

"A special mention must be given to Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Boxing, DAZN and Sky Sports, who along with Mark and Paul McClean of A McCleans Bookmakers and Damian Auld of Auld Dental Laboratory and Ralph McKay helped guide my career and without them none of the above would have been possible.

"My advice to any young person with ambition and drive would be, you will lose one hundred per cent of the chances you don't take in life, get a good team around you and chase your dreams.

"Thanks for the support I have received from everyone over the years forever grateful for having you all as part of my journey."