The biggest win of Terence Crawford’s Hall of Fame career apparently was satisfying enough for him to walk away from boxing fulfilled.

Crawford, 38, announced his retirement Tuesday in a video posted on YouTube, in which the undefeated five-division champion paid homage to his legendary journey from obscurity in Omaha, Nebraska to the pinnacle of the sport. The three-division undisputed champ expressed interest in continuing his career after he defeated Canelo Alvarez by unanimous decision September 13 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and would’ve commanded another eight-figure purse for his next fight.

Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) noted that retirement was also an option after he won The Ring, IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles from Alvarez in a fight watched by more than 40 million viewers worldwide on Netflix. Eddy Reynoso, the Mexican superstar’s trainer and manager, said recently that Alvarez wanted a rematch with Crawford in September after taking time to heal from hand surgery and to rest.

Barring a change of heart, which often occurs in boxing, Alvarez won’t get a chance to avenge his loss.

“Every fighter know this moment will come,” Crawford said in the abovementioned video. “We just never know when. I used to spend my whole life chasing something. Not belts, not money, not headlines, but that feeling, the one you get when the world doubts you. But you keep showing up and you keep proving everyone wrong.”

Continuously fueled by detractors who at times questioned his level of opposition, Crawford cemented his legacy as a generational great by beating Alvarez and former unified welterweight champ Errol Spence Jr. in two of his final three bouts. Two years before he moved up two weight classes and beat Alvarez in their 12-rounder, Crawford dominated a then-unbeaten Spence, whom he dropped three times and stopped in the ninth round to become undisputed welterweight champ in July 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

His clear victory over the supposedly stronger Alvarez propelled Crawford to the top spot on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list and made him a fully unified champion in a third weight class. Crawford was recently stripped of the WBC 168-pound crown, but he is the only male boxer to become undisputed champion in three weight classes during the four-belt era.

Before beating Spence and Alvarez, Crawford was crowned undisputed champ in the junior welterweight division when he knocked out Julius Indongo in the third round of their August 2017 bout in Lincoln, Nebraska. He won world titles at lightweight and junior middleweight as well during a career that began amid minimal fanfare in March 2008.

Seventeen years later, the father of seven retired undefeated, with his health and wealth intact. Crawford emphasized that leaving boxing on his own terms factored into his decision.

“This sport gave me everything,” Crawford concluded. “I fought for my family, I fought for my city, I fought for the kid I used to be – the one who had nothing but a dream and a pair of gloves. And I did it all my way.”