BOXING
Shawn Porter announces retirement from boxing
A former two time welterweight champion and one of the more respected fighters, he will leave the ring with respect.
The the storied career of one boxing's greats, has come to an end.
Shawn Porter announces his retirement
For the first time in his career, Shawn Porter was stopped in his fight on Saturday, a 10th-round TKO vs. Terence Crawford. Post fight the respected veteran announced that it would be his last time in the ring. Porter who is 34, went toe for toe with Crawford until he was knocked down twice in the 10th round. It led to his father and trainer Kenny Porter throwing in the towel. Though perhaps the end Porter would have liked, he can hold his head high in that he didn't lose to up and coming fighter, he lost to Terrence Crawford.
"I was prepared to announce my retirement tonight, win, lose or draw," said Porter (31-4-1, 17 KOs). "Even if it was a draw...I was not going to do it again. I'm announcing my retirement right now," Porter said. He went on to add, "After you've fought everybody at the top, what more could I do? I'm not going to be a gatekeeper; that's not the life I want to live. I never wanted to lead the life of a fighter who fought into his 40s." In retrospect Porter who is a two time champion, will go out with respect as one of the premiere fighters in the sport's history.
Porter gets sincere about Andre Ward and well-being
Speaking post fight, Porter disclosed that there was in fact a specific moment when the idea of retirement occurred to him. He was working on the broadcast of the third fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder last month, while sat alongside another boxing legend in Andre Ward who was doing the same. A person approached Ward and asked if he would fight Canelo Alvarez, to which Ward - according to Porter - said, "Why can't I have just one more [fight] left in me?" Ward himself had previously retired at 33 after a TKO win over Sergey Kovalev. Porter stuck with the words 'One. More. Fight.'
"One of the guys I admire in this sport is Andre Ward. ... I kind of hang on to every word that Dre says," Porter said of the moment. "I really admire him and everything he's been through in this sport. Porter added, "The way that this sport has gone, you guys expect us to fight for 15-20 years. ...It's said, 'We hope he leaves this game with his health,' but you never really know. I've been fortunate to be in some really big fights against some really good guys and always have my health at the end of the night." As Porter says goodbye to the ring for good, he does so with a more than impressive record.
Referring to his close call with now #1 ranked Errol Spence Jr. Porter was reminiscent. "I knew that Errol Spence Jr. was going to be my last fight. I knew that in 2017 when he won his championship fight," he said. "But after we fought, I felt that there was something else, and that something else was Terence Crawford. ...I've given this sport a great deal."