The 40-year-old heavyweight is currently planning to bow out after facing Otto Wallin in Manchester in February and then another fight abroad, and he’s pleased he’s got the chance to say a proper goodbye to his career.

He told Boxing News magazine: “Some fighters are weak. Instead of looking forward to their retirement, the moment they lose a fight, they retire in their dressing room.

“Then they announce it and that’s it, they don’t have a chance to say ‘goodbye’.

“Then after a while, they want to do a comeback.

“Most fighters are depressed. So, I said I’ll only come out when it’s the right time. I am coming out of the game on my own terms.”

But Derek admitted he feels “emotional” about bringing the curtain down on his lengthy career.

He said:” It’s emotional man. I cried, actually, when they showed me the poster [for the Wallin fight].

“And the other night I was asleep and our five year old comes in our bedroom at three o’clock in the morning saying, ‘Daddy is crying’ because I was crying in my sleep.

“In the morning she asked what I was crying for and I just said, ‘It’s the last dance’. It’s very emotional for me.”