LAS VEGAS — Shawn Porter was stopped for the first time in his career on Saturday night via 10th-round TKO to WBC welterweight champion Terence Crawford. That will be the last time we see "Showtime" inside the boxing ring.
During his post-fight press conference, Porter announced his retirement from the sport and would have done so even if he'd won or the fight had gone to the scorecards and been scored a draw.
"I was prepared to announce my retirement tonight, win, lose or draw," Porter said at the presser which DAZN News attended. "Even if it was a draw ... I was not going to do it again. I'm announcing my retirement right now.
"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."
Porter's fought the cream of the crop in the welterweight division. The former two-time welterweight titlist faced Crawford, Errol Spence Jr., Keith Thurman, Yordenis Ugas, Danny Garcia, and Adrien Broner. He lost to Crawford, Spence, Thurman, and Kell Brook. Porter, though did beat Garcia, Ugas, and Broner.
The thought of retirement entered Porter's mind during the fight week of the trilogy fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder in October. Porter watched someone approach Andre Ward about why he doesn't come out of retirement to square off with Canelo Alvarez.
"Why can't I have just one more [fight] left in me?", Ward responded to the person according to Porter. Ward retired at 33 after stopping Sergey Kovalev
It was that precise moment Porter thought the Crawford bout would be it.
"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. "The way that this sport has gone, you guys expect us to fight for 15-20 years," Porter added. "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.
"I knew that Errol Spence Jr. was going to be my last fight (in September 2019). I knew that in 2017 when he won his championship fight," Porter 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."