Last updated 11:40, Wednesday, 11 June 2008

THERE’S nothing sadder than a top sportsman who doesn’t know when it’s time to quit. The washed-up, ageing footballer who can’t let go and ends up pocketing cash from a small-time club as he drifts down the divisions only to let himself down on the pitch. Or the track star who makes a comeback and has to rely on performance-enhancing drugs to compensate for a creaking body.

Just champion: Charles Shepherd celebrates with promoter Barry Hearn after his world title victory over Tom Johnson

When they’ve hit the glorious heights, been adored by fans and basked in the limelight, the wrench of being forced to call time on their careers must be so painful and life-changing.

Yet many don’t seem to know when the time is right to bring the curtain down on their career in a dignified manner – and the effect can be toe-curlingly embarrassing.

Charles Shepherd was in danger of becoming one of those sportsmen who failed to appreciate when the time was right to bow out.

It’s four years since Shepherd last fought and yet it has taken him until now to officially retire because he refused to let go of the idea of re-establishing himself in the lightweight ranks – and maybe even win the British title.

Thank goodness he’s now seen sense and decided to hang up the gloves which made him Cumbria’s greatest-ever boxer, and decided instead to put his experience to great use by running two gyms in Carlisle and Brampton.

He is 37 now and has earned the right to retire gracefully and enable boxing fans to remember him as the Carlisle scrapper who brought world title glory to the city.

It would have been sheer folly for Shepherd to make a comeback even though he reckons the lightweight division is no great shakes.

The punishing training regime and the sacrifices which have to be made are hard enough when you’re at your peak, but for a boxer to have to put himself through all of that after four years away is just beyond reason.

Shepherd, who won 21 of his 35 fights during a 17-year professional career, finally decided to confirm his retirement at the weekend.

It’s the right decision. He has nothing left to prove in a sport which saw him win British, Commonwealth and IBO World super-featherweight titles.

Shepherd can bow out with memories to cherish – like the night he defeated Tom “Boom Boom” Johnson in front of a 1200 capacity crowd in his adopted home city of Carlisle.

Even before he was a champion, he can look back with pride on the night of his controversial defeat to PJ Gallagher in Erith in Kent when he bombarded the Irishman with thunderous punches and unremitting pressure in a thrilling contest named Sky’s Fight of the Year, enhancing his reputation as an exciting fighter.

Then came his British title victory when he defeated Glasgow’s Dave McHale in the Scotsman’s own backyard in front of a hostile crowd.

And remember how he sold out the Sands Centre for his shot at the Commonwealth crown in just 20 minutes – compared to the three hours it took them to sell tickets for a Robbie Williams concert?

Shepherd never really got the proper credit he deserved.

He unfairly gained only grudging approval from pundits, including Barry McGuigan, who accused him of lacking punching power - a claim contradicted by his record of eight knockouts and 21 victories in a 35-fight career.

The ultra-competitive super-featherweight division didn’t enjoy the same box office glamour as the middle or heavyweight ranks.

He lost the World crown and with it the chance to earn mega-bucks by taking on Prince Naseem Hamed, and big-name promoters like Tommy Gilroy and Barry Hearn soon ditched him when the chips were down.

Shepherd gracefully accepted that but it was maybe the disappointment of missing out on the chance to fight a superstar like Hamed or Tracy Harris Patterson that stopped him quitting until now. It was as if he felt he still had something to prove.

Seeing a burned-out boxer attempting comeback after comeback is not how people want to remember champions. It’s better to leave good memories – and that’s what Shepherd has done.

AMANDA LITTLE