by David P. Greisman
Thomas Dulorme was in his biggest spotlight to date — a bout on HBO’s “Boxing After Dark” — when the welterweight prospect suffered his first loss as a pro, getting knocked down twice and losing via seventh-round technical knockout to Luis Carlos Abregu.
That was Oct. 27. With a few weeks in the rear view mirror, Dulorme’s promoter, Gary Shaw, reflected on that defeat and what might come next for his fighter. Shaw spoke with BoxingScene.com in mid-November.
BoxingScene.com: What do you think happened to Thomas Dulorme in the Abregu fight, and where do you go with him now?
Shaw: “I haven’t given up hope on Thomas Dulorme. I think he’s still a future star. Everybody who knows me knows I tell it like it is: I thought he should’ve fought southpaw and stayed southpaw. I don’t know why he switched up. I don’t know why he circled the wrong way. But even after the second knockdown in the seventh road, he was still ahead on both cards, but the trainer thought that he should go and stop the fight. That’s the trainer’s prerogative; I’m only sitting in the fan’s seat at that point. So it is what it is.”
BoxingScene.com: Now you’ve got to bring him back.
Shaw: “I’ve got to bring him back, got to decide if he wants to be 147 or 140. Let him take a little rest, because it was a devastating loss for him. I’ll bring him back like I brought Vic Darchinyan back after losses and brought [Antonio] DeMarco back after losses. One thing everybody knows about GSP is if you sign with us, you got to fight real fights, but we always reload.”
BoxingScene.com: Do you think he should be at 147 or go down to 140?
Shaw: “Look, I like to be where the action is, and if he can hold 147 and feels comfortable there, then that’s where he should be. But whether I think a fighter should be at a certain weight is irrelevant to what they can really do. How much trouble does he have making 147? And if it’s no trouble, how much trouble will he have making 140? The best way to do that is to train for an invisible fight and see what you have to do — take five weeks and see if you can get down to 140, and if you can do it and feel strong, then that’s where you belong.”
David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com