Wladimir Klitschko has retired from boxing, killing any hope of a rematch with heavyweight king Anthony Joshua.

The Ukrainian was beaten by Joshua in a heavyweight blockbuster back in April and the Brit was eyeing another colossal bout in Las Vegas on November 11.

But the 41-year-old Klitschko has released a video to confirm his decision to call time on his 21-year career in the ring.

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Heavyweight legend Wladimir Klitschko has decided to retire from boxing after 21 years

Klitschko is ready to move on with his life and begin 'new challenges'

The former heavyweight king was touted for a rematch with Anthony Joshua in November

Sportsmail columnist Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, confirmed the Brit must now fight his mandatory IBF challenger Kubrat Pulev in his next fight following the announcement.

‘I had a call last night saying he was retiring,’ Hearn told talkSPORT.

‘Contractually Klitschko had to take the rematch unless he retired or decided against it. We have been working on it with people in Las Vegas two or three months. We were gearing up for an announcement shortly.

‘We’ll focus our attention on [mandatory IBF challenger] Kubrat Pulev. When we got the agreement with Klitsckho it was under the provision we’d fight Pulev if it didn’t happen.’

But following his defeat by Joshua in April, the Ukrainian has decided to hang up his gloves

Klitschko knocked down the Brit in the sixth round before Joshua stopped him in the 11th

KLITSCHKO - HIS STATS IN THE RING Turned professional: 1996 Heavyweight belts won: IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO Wins: 64 Losses: 5 Draws: 0 Rounds boxed: 369 Height: 6ft 6ins. Reach: 206cm Record stadium attendance: 90,000 - The number present at Wembley Stadium on April 29, a post-war boxing record in the UK, for the Joshua fight Purse for Alexander Povetkin defeat in 2013: £17,628,333 Age at retirement: 41 Longest time between losses: 11 years - Between Lamon Brewster in 2004 and that in 2015 by Tyson Fury. Number of world heavyweight title bouts: 29 Olympic gold medals won: 1, at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. He later sold his medal for $1m, donating the proceeds to his charity, the Klitschko Foundation. Advertisement

The heavyweight legend hangs up his gloves with the stellar record of 64-5-0. 'Dr Steelhammer' ruled the division throughout the 2000s, holding the IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO titles.

Klitschko burst onto the scene when he claimed gold in the 1996 Olympics in the super-heavyweight class.

He claimed his first professional belt just two years later, knocking out Marcus McIntyre, and set about making his mark in the new millennium.

Klitschko retained his IBF belt for a remarkable nine years and seven months between 2006 and 2015, the second-longest of all time behind Joe Louis.

But the former heavyweight champ stated he is ready to move on from boxing and is looking to the next stage of his career.

'I was, and am still capable of doing all this because of the global appeal of sport and boxing, my own talent and most importantly because of you, my loyal fans,' Klitschko said.

'At some point in our lives we need to, or just want to, switch our couriers and get ourselves ready for the next chapter and chart. Any course towards fresh challenges.

‘Finally instead of just saying thanks and goodbye I want you to continue to follow me on my new and exciting journey.'

Klitschko dominated the division in the 2000s and held his IBF belt for over nine years

Klitschko beat David Haye by unanimous decision in Hamburg in 2011 to retain his crown