EXCLUSIVE: British heavyweight boxer Danny Williams, who once knocked out Mike Tyson, retires amid fears for his health after his opponent pleaded with the referee to stop his latest loss

• Danny Williams has confirmed he has retired from boxing at the age of 47 
• The British boxer lost to Sergey Kharitonov in the second round on Friday night 
• Williams was dazed and stumbled around the ring before admitting defeat
• It was Williams' 20th loss in the last 10 years having won 54 in his career 

Danny Williams has retired from boxing after drawing serious concern from fellow fighters over the manner of his latest defeat at the age of 47.

The Brixton heavyweight, who knocked out Mike Tyson in 2004, was stopped in the second round of his bout against Sergey Kharitonov in Moscow on Friday night.

It was his 20th defeat in the past 10 years alone, with his full record on the BoxRec statistical site listing 54 wins and 28 losses, though it is believed there have been more of the latter.

Although Williams declined to comment when contacted by Sportsmail on Monday, he did confirm he has retired. 

It remains to be seen if that is a permanent decision, given he has said in the past that he would walk away only to return, citing his daughters’ school tuition fees.

At one point during the loss in Russia, Kharitonov could be seen pleading with the referee to stop the fight rather than allowing a dazed Williams to take further hits. 

The response around the boxing community was of shock at seeing the former world title contender in the ring, despite admitting as far back at 2008 that he was ‘shot’ as a fighter.

Former cruiserweight world champion Enzo Maccarinelli tweeted on Friday: ‘Horrible to see Danny Williams being allowed to step in the ring. He looks so weak and not mentally there compared to what he used to be, it’s a sad watch. Credit to Kharitonov for asking the ref to step in when he was hurt.’

British heavyweight Dave Allen wrote on Instagram that he was willing to give a portion of his future purses to Williams in order to keep him from fighting. 

He added: ‘Surely other people in boxing are seeing what’s happening to this man, others with more power and wealth than me, he shouldn’t be near a ring, he needs saving sooner than later, I’m willing to do whatever it takes after seeing his last fight really upset me so I hope this message don’t fall on deaf ears someone help me help him it’s so sad.’

Williams had been fighting with a licence issued in the Czech Republic after being denied one by the British Boxing Board of Control in the past decade. 

He previously held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight belts, and in 2004, after famously beating Tyson, he challenged unsuccessfully for Vitali Klitschko’s WBC world title.