KIERAN Gething couldn’t help but feel a mixture of emotions after his defeat of Bradley Pryce ultimately brought the curtain down on the 63-fight veteran’s 19-year professional career.

Pryce, 37, had stated before the six-round welterweight clash at Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff that he planned to retire if he suffered the 25th loss of his tenure in the paid code.

Former Team Calzaghe member Pryce retired following his 60th outing last January, when he was stopped by Zach Parker in Preston, but later reversed his decision.

The results of a medical assessment allowed Pryce to continue, but an eye problem, one he originally feared would force him to quit, remains his Achilles heel.

After losing on points to Pontypool’s Gething, he said: “How I’ve been passing my medicals, I don’t know. My eye just turns, my balance is all over the shop and my footwork goes.

“I’m happy to say that I’ve managed to get away with it for the last couple of years, but now it’s time to realise that my eyesight is very bad and it’s time to call it a day.

“I’m telling the boxing board that I shouldn’t have been boxing for probably the last four years, my eyesight is terrible.”

Gething produced an accomplished performance during his 60-54 victory and is now fully focused on a crack at the vacant Welsh welterweight title.

He had been set to fight for the belt on Saturday’s show before opponent Tony Dixon pulled out with an eye injury.

The hugely experienced Pryce stepped in and put up a brave challenge but was second best in an entertaining encounter.

Speaking afterwards, Gething was pleased to win, frustrated not to get the stoppage, and felt it was the right time for the former Commonwealth super-welterweight champion to hang up his gloves.

“I said to him ‘I hope it’s your last one’ because he said his eye was turning to one side, it’s sad really,” said Gething. “I said to him ‘thank you for the memories’.

“He was a three-weight champion and has done a lot in boxing but you’ve got to put your health first in this sport.

“When I walked in there and saw him opposite me I thought ‘I watched him on the telly a couple of years ago’ and now I’m hitting him.

“Being a professional, you’ve got to be professional and take that out of the equation.

“Aside from the boxing, you do feel emotional because it’s someone you’ve grown up watching.

“My dad officiated at some of his shows and I’ve got a load of programmes from his fights.

“Coming up to this I was clearing out a room and I found loads of programmes with his face on the cover.”

He added: “The reason I didn’t use my jab a lot more is because I respected his power, so I dominated him with my left hand instead.

“I didn’t want to get clipped too much, I was disappointed I got hit at all.

“I’m gutted that I didn’t get the stoppage, really disappointed, but I left it too late.

“I was looking for a fifth or sixth-round stoppage and saw the opportunity, heard the referee say ‘give me something Brad’, and I didn’t take the opportunity.

“I caught him with a couple of sweet ones and I had it there in the sixth but left it too late, which is a learning curve in itself.”