50 and Out? Looking Back at the Highs and Lows in the Career of Derry Mathews

While he was unable to mark the occasion by claiming a world title, Derry Mathews reached the milestone of 50 pro fights in his clash with Terry Flanagan on Saturday.

The 32-year-old from Liverpool, England, has been English, British and Commonwealth champion while campaigning at featherweight, super featherweight and lightweight.

However, a world title has eluded the man known as Dirty Derry.

The defeat to the WBO lightweight champion Flanagan saw Mathews (38-10-2, 20 KOs) miss out on achieving his goal. He hinted on Twitter in the aftermath that it could also mean the end of his journey.

But, it seems the lure of lacing up the gloves again is already proving too strong. When asked on Twitter on Monday if he had retired, Mathews simply replied, "No mate."

Whatever the future holds for him, the past has been full of highs and lows.

To mark Mathews' half-century of fights, Bleacher Report looks back at some of the key moments in his career.

Having turned pro as a featherweight at the beginning of 2003, Mathews made a fast start to life in the paid ranks.

He reeled off 16 straight victories—a run that included clinching the English title—before facing Stephen Foster Jr. for the World Boxing Union belt on Oct. 14, 2006.

The fight, staged at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England, was part of the undercard to IBF and WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe's clash with Sakio Bika.

Foster Jr. was the defending champion, yet he struggled to cope with his domestic rival.

Although he did manage a knockdown in Round 10, Mathews had to wait for the judges to crown him the new champion.

The Liverpudlian won handsomely, with the scores reading 118-108, 118-110 and 119-107 in his favour.

Mathews won his first 21 outings and was named Young Boxer of the Year by the British Boxing Writers' Club in 2007.

However, a stoppage defeat to Choi Tseveenpurev began a rapid fall from grace that briefly led to Dirty Derry hanging up his gloves.

The Mongolian Choi put his opponent on the canvas five times on April 5, 2008; the last of the knockdowns in the closing seconds of Round 5 brought about an end to a one-sided contest.

Mathews would go on to lose three of his next four outings, with the last of those coming at the hands of Scott Lawton on Nov. 13, 2009.

He revealed to Chris Walker of Boxing News that he, along with longtime mentor Georgie Vaughan, believed it was all over after losing to Lawton: "He [Georgie] literally put his arms around me and congratulated me on what I had achieved and told me that was that."

Thankfully, though, Mathews was far from finished.

In moving up to lightweight, Mathews embarked on a new chapter in his career.

He fought for the European title in 2011, but his bout with reigning champion Gavin Rees was declared a technical draw after a clash of heads left him with a broken nose.

The Englishman then missed out on the vacant IBO world title by losing to Emiliano Marsili early in 2012, only to then become British champion about three months later.

His battle with Manchester's Anthony Crolla only lasted six rounds, but the pair put on quite a show in Oldham.

Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook noted in his report: "It was really a hell of a fight, up there with the best of 2012 thus far."

Mathews was the underdog, yet he caused an upset when a big left hook led to a TKO win in Round 6.

He had also knocked Crolla down in the third during a fine performance that not only earned him the Lonsdale belt but also proved his doubters wrong.

The Prizefighter Series was the concoction of promoters Matchroom Boxing. In a knockout tournament, eight boxers would battle it out for a winner-takes-all cash prize.

The idea caught the imagination of the British boxing public while also offering domestic fighters a chance to not only pocket some serious money but also make a name for themselves.

Mathews twice took part in Prizefighter events but failed to lift the trophy at both super featherweight and lightweight.

His first attempt was at the 130-pound limit in Prizefighter 15, staged at York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, on Nov. 20, 2010.

Wins over Gary McArthur and Choi Tseveenpurev—the man who had handed Mathews his first pro loss—booked a final berth. However, Gary Buckland stopped him in the title fight.

Mathews had the chance to fight on home soil when appearing in Prizefighter 26 on Oct. 6, 2012. But, Terry Flanagan dashed his hopes of glory at the Liverpool Olympia in the semi-finals.

Neither man could have imagined they would meet again later in their careers, only with a much bigger prize on offer.

Mathews' never-say-die attitude meant there was no such thing as a lost cause, as Tommy Coyle found out to his cost on July 13, 2013.

In a fight for the vacant Commonwealth lightweight title, the local favourite Coyle seemed to be cruising to a comfortable points victory at Craven Park in Hull, England.

However, in Round 10, Mathews found a punch that made the scorecards unnecessary.

The Liverpudlian was coming under heavy pressure when he summoned up a left hook that laid his rival out on the canvas. Coyle did well to beat the count, but referee Phil Edwards waved off the contest. 

Mathews admitted he had been fortunate, per Adam Norman of Sky Sports: "I was terrible tonight, this man [Coyle] was outstanding. He bullied me today, I've got a lot of respect for him—this man will come again.

"But like I've said before I'm one of the biggest hitters around."

It was a shot out of the blue that bagged Mathews yet another belt to add to his collection.

Having claimed the interim WBA belt with victory over late stand-in Tony Luis in 2015, Mathews had the chance to become a full world champion in his own backyard.

Manchester's Terry Flanagan—the unbeaten holder of the WBO strap—stood in Dirty Derry's way at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on March 12, 2016.

The fight didn't quite catch fire as many had hoped.

Jeff Powell wrote in the Daily Mail: "Flanagan made such hard work of it that the opening half a dozen rounds were more of a bar-room brawl than the genuine slug-fest they had promised us."

The champion had a point deducted in Round 8, yet Turbo motored away from his opponent in the closing rounds to win by scores of 117-110 (twice) and 115-112.

Mathews was crestfallen after falling short.

He said in the post-fight press conference, per Micheal McKenna of the Liverpool Echo: "I’m proud of what I have done. I have retired, I’ve been back, I’ve won 10 belts and I have won every single title possible but the world title is missing from my mantelpiece."

It may well be the Flanagan fight isn't quite the last chapter in the story just yet.

Whatever the future holds, Mathews has been a true warrior during a career that has spanned over 13 years.

Should Mathews retire? Have your say on his future—and any reflections on his past—by using the comments section.