CARL FROCH announced his retirement from boxing yesterday, claiming that his “desire has gone.”

The four-time world champion won the WBC title twice, as well as winning the WBA and IBF belts during his career.

Froch last fought in May 2014 at Wembley, defeating rival George Groves, and hangs up his gloves having won 33 of his 35 fights.

Froch said: “I’m incredibly proud of what I have achieved in boxing but now is the right moment to hang up my gloves.

“I have nothing left to prove and my legacy speaks for itself.

“I’ve got no regrets. I’m not retiring undefeated but in many ways that’s better because I’ve boxed everybody, I’ve faced every challenge.

“So many athletes, not just boxers, don’t get their defining moment. I’ve probably had seven or eight defining moments but the biggest and best was on the platform of Wembley Stadium in front of 80,000 fans. It was amazing and to get that defining moment is enough.”

Froch, who will become a boxing pundit, added: “If I could fight again physically I would, but mentally I’m not sure. I think the desire has gone.

“There will always be options and it’s never going to stop. There’s always going to be somebody next in line or ready to try to take my scalp.

“And if that’s never going to go away, at what point do you say: ‘Right, now is the time to retire,’ based on challengers and opponents?

“You can’t wait for that, it’s got to be from within here, and as much as it hurts, and as hard as it is for me, and even making the decision to retire and saying it’s been a year, it’s too long, the fighting machine has gone, it’s not going to come back, it’s still hard.

“The last thing I think about before my head hits the pillow is boxing, and when I wake up in the morning to think what time it is, and I think it’s half six, seven o’clock, should I be going for a run, where are my trainers — it’s a lifestyle, a way of life, and it’s a mindset. I’ll always have that and I think I’ll always be itching for the big fight.”

Froch admitted in January of this year that the idea of never fighting again had some appeal, saying it was “quite a nice thought.”

An elbow injury forced Froch out of a planned March 28 fight against Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr in Las Vegas.

At the time, Froch posted a photograph of his gloves hanging up on social media, sparking suggestions of retirement.

Froch thought then that he would rediscover his appetite but reached the conclusion it was time to step away from the ring.

“There’s no greater feeling for me than standing victorious in the arena and I’m never going to get that again now, and I don’t know where I’m going to get that feeling from,” Froch said.