By Terence Dooley

Jon Thaxton has announced that he will retire from the sport of boxing following his fourth-round stoppage defeat to John Murray on Saturday night.  Thaxton was bidding to regain the British lightweight title but was unable to cope with Murray’s strength, persistence and boxing ability.

A strong right hand in the fourth round of the contest sent Thaxton back on his heels.  Referee Howard Foster prevented Murray from applying the finish and called the fight off at 2:30 of the round.

‘Jono’ won British and European titles at lightweight; he took Ricky Hatton the distance at light-welterweight back in 2000 and he may have won the fight under different circumstances as Hatton fought almost the entire of the contest with a huge gash over his eye.

However, 2009 has been a nightmare year for Jon, with loses to Anthony Mezaache, Tom Glover and the stoppage at the hands of Murray; this poor run of form left Thaxton with nowhere to go.

Thaxton held a press conference in his native Norfolk earlier today to announce his decision; his final record reads 34-11 (19).

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