Alexander Povetkin has called time on his boxing career after announcing he is hanging up his gloves. 

The 41-year-old, who finished with a stoppage defeat to Dillian Whyte, was hampered by injuries in recent years and after being stopped in the fourth round by Whyte on March 5, Povetkin has decided to call it a day and focus on spending time with his family rather than fighting.    

Povetkin, who was trained by Valery Belov, says injuries have taken their toll during his sixteen years in the professional ranks.

"The years take their toll," Povetkin said in a video posted on social media.   

"I have all kinds of injuries that still need to be treated. The time has come for me to end my career."

Povetkin's announcement is not wholly unexpected. 

There were calls for Povetkin to hang up the gloves after Whyte stopped him in the fourth round in March of this year as the crushing setback all but ended his slim hopes of earning a world title shot against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. 

Povetkin (36-3-1, 25 KOs), from Kursk in Russia, retires after winning the WBA (Regular) and WBC interim heavyweight titles and twice challenging for the unified heavyweight championship, although his career will be forever blemished by a failed drugs test.  

After losing to Wladimir Klitschko in a world heavyweight title unification fight in 2013, Povetkin would have to wait another five years before he earned another shot at a world title against Anthony Joshua.  

Despite his losses to Joshua and Klitschko, Povetkin's knockout power made him one of the sport's most dangerous fighters.

The Russian won the WBA (Regular) heavyweight title by defeating Ruslan Chagaev in 2011 and would go on to defend his belt four times with stoppage wins over Hasim Rahman in 2012 and Andrzej Wawrzyk in 2013.

Povetkin brings the curtain down on his career with 36 victories and 25 wins by knockout to his name. 

His promoter Andrey Ryabinskiy revealed after the two-fight series with Whyte that he was hoping to persuade Povetkin to retire to spare himself from any unnecessary punishment.

"In my opinion, now is the best time to end his career," Ryabinskiy said to Sky Sports.

"Sasha has a 1-1 score with one of the best heavyweights in the world. I will try to persuade Sasha, but it's his decision to make. We will support him in any case."

He added: "Yes, we've talked right after the fight. Sasha, of course, is upset that he couldn't beat Dillian. But it's sport, you need to be prepared for any outcome."

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