The former IBF flyweight world champion suffered just the second loss of his career in November's loss to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games medalist in Birmingham.

• Read more | 'Maybe I need that hate!' - Sunny Edwards bows out with glowing pride for Galal Yafai after defeat

Yafai handed Edwards a sixth-round stoppage after dominating large portions of the fight, and the latter announced his plan to quit the ring in the immediate aftermath.

Now, almost a month on from announcing his decision, the star says he thought he would be more torn up about his decision to quit, underlining that he made the right call.

Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing

"The sad thing is, once I’d done it, I genuinely felt relieved," he told Boxing News. "It’s the first time I’ve got out of the ring and my first thoughts aren’t “Who am I fighting next?"

"That just showed me, probably more than I accepted to myself. It should have felt more heartbreaking, and it just wasn’t. I’m still very much going to be rooted in boxing.

"I’m not going anywhere. If anything, I’d be popping up doing more other stuff [like commentary and management], but I think part of it is my body.

"If I’m honest, my body’s really taken the enjoyment and belief out of myself, because it’s slowly broken down. It’s just a lot, and I’m enjoying the other stuff.

"I’m starting to think at times that I was missing out on more that I could be doing outside of the ring, and I think it just altered and tweaked my mindset.

"That same ego and spite I had faded as I got older. Maybe having kids changed my mindset outside of boxing, and ego did really help me a lot more than I knew at the time."

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