Carl Frampton is a man of his word.
After suffering a sixth-round TKO loss to WBO junior lightweight world champion Jamel Herring, an emotional Frampton took the mic and made good on his vow to retire.
"I said before that I'd retire if I lost this fight, and that's exactly what I'm going to do," Frampton declared in the center of the ring.
"Boxing has been good to me. It has also been bad to me. But the last few years with these boys (gesturing to his corner) have been the best few years of my career. I just want to go home to my beautiful wife and kids and dedicate my life to them."
Giving up five inches in height and eight inches of reach to the champion, Frampton found himself in trouble during the fifth round when he walked into a straight left hand that dropped him with a thud. He'd beat the count, but his problems worsened in the sixth when Herring launched a short left uppercut that bounced off his head for the second knockdown.
A wobbly Frampton took the eight count and arose off the mat but was stopped moments later when Herring bashed him with another uppercut and two more left hands, as the ref brought the action to a halt.
Frampton didn't make any excuses, as he credited Herring for the brilliant gameplan instead.
"I just got beat by the better man," Frampton added.
The 34-year-old Frampton, out of Belfast, Northern Ireland, ends his career as a former two-weight world champion, having been a unified super bantamweight champ and featherweight titleholder with a 29-3 record, including 17 KOs.