Frank Buglioni retires from boxing

29-year-old light heavyweight Frank Buglioni has decided to retire from boxing, announcing the move on Monday via his Twitter account.

“After thoughtful deliberation, I have decided to hang up the gloves,” he wrote. “I am proud of all my achievements in boxing and I will be forever grateful of the life lessons and positive effects it has given me.

“I have loved the journey and it has certainly made me the man I am today. I will now focus on a different side of life, I will put my health, my girlfriend, and my family first.”

Buglioni makes the decision just a couple of days after an upset loss to Fanlong Meng in Monte Carlo, a fifth round TKO caused by a bad cut. He also lost a TKO-1 to Callum Johnson in March of this year, dropping the British 175-pound title.

Buglioni was seen early in his career as, to be frank, a mediocre prospect with a fan base who helped pack in crowds on undercards. He lost for the first time in 2014, when he was stopped by Sergey Khomitsky, and went to a draw in 2015 with Lee Markham. He was given a world title shot at 168 pounds in Sept. 2015, losing a decision to Fedor Chudinov.

But things perked up when he moved up in weight. He beat Hosea Burton to win the British light heavyweight title in Dec. 2016, and defended it twice, against Ricky Summers and Craig Richards.

All in all, Buglioni wound up having a solid, seven-year pro career, climbing to the top of the domestic ranks and getting his crack on the world level. He retires with a career record of 22-4-1 (16 KO).