Boxer turns down fight with Anthony Joshua and announces retirement

Klitschko was supposed to fight Joshua in a rematch in November after losing their heavyweight champions bout in April.

The 41-year-old announced his retirement with a video which he started by highlighting what he has achieved with boxing.

"I have achieved everything I dreamed of, and now I want to start my second career after sports," Klitschko said.

"I would have never imagined that I would have such a long and incredibly successful boxing career."

Klitschko was the heavyweight champion twice in his career that spanned 21 years, holding the title from 2006-2015 before losing to Tyson Fury.

The Ukrainian ends his career with a record of 64 wins and five defeats.

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His journey in professional boxing kicked off when he won Olympic super-heavyweight gold at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

He was unbeaten in 20 bouts before his first loss of his career to American Ross Puritty in 1998. Klitschko also lost to Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster in 2003 and 2004 respectively.

He was then unbeaten for 11 years before losing his WBA, IBF and WBO titles to Fury in November 2015.