Andy Lee at 33 years of age has decided to hang up the gloves after a stellar professional career that saw him reached the top and become middleweight champion of the world.

A standout amateur, Lee made the transition to the pro ranks well and shared the ring with the likes of Chavez Jr, Billy Joe Saunders and Peter ‘Kid Chcoloate’ Quillin during his tenure as a professional fighter.

Here is some of the early reaction so far from around the boxing world so far:

.@AndyLeeBoxing retires from boxing at the age of 33, via @offtheball. Had a fine career and, good grief, he could really punch. Always good to see a fighter get out at the right time.

— Tom Craze (@TomCraze) February 20, 2018

Sad to see a true gentleman in life @AndyLeeBoxing leave the game but he went out on his terms & nobody here will forget that Korobov fight.Enjoy retirement you Irish Legend

— Mark McFarlane (@MarkMcFarlane29) February 20, 2018

Andy Lee announces his retirement from boxing. Enjoy your retirement champ. Irish boxing legend. pic.twitter.com/J7k3fVxW9R

— Cian (@__CR97) February 20, 2018

Best of luck in retirement it was an honour to have shared the ting with you @AndyLeeBoxing

— Anthony Fitzgerald (@pride_of_dublin) February 20, 2018

Happy retirement @AndyLeeBoxing pic.twitter.com/ZuNcyLQwT7

— MANASSA™ (@Manassa_Mauler) February 20, 2018

Sad to see @AndyLeeBoxing retire. My favourite ever Irish boxer, class inside & outside the ring.

— Yessen Didi (@TheDarkPrinceDB) February 20, 2018

You are a class act

— Brian Byrne (@brianbyrne62) February 20, 2018

The bold Andy Lee has retired ?

— Aaron (@AaronDoran13) February 20, 2018

Congratulations @AndyLeeBoxing on your retirement from the ring. Thanks for the good memories Andy and the nail biting fights. Enjoy what ever route you now choose and I’m sure you’ll be a great success.

— Fergus Donegan (@FergusDonegan) February 20, 2018

@offtheball Bitterly disappointed to hear that @AndyLeeBoxing has announced his retirement. A class act as a boxer and a truly great person.
I’ll always remember his kind words to me and other young boxers whenever we used to meet him at tournaments.

— Mick McCarthy’s First Touch (@WoolbertoSilva) February 20, 2018

@AndyLeeBoxing has confirmed on @offtheball that he is retiring from boxing.

— John Keogh (@johnnybkeogh) February 20, 2018

With only @MartinMurrayBox left it’s such a shame that @mattmacklin @DarrenBarker82 and @AndyLeeBoxing never managed to face one another.

— Ashley Unsworth (@AshUnsworth89) February 20, 2018