By Ryan Songalia

Through his first 13 professional bouts, junior welterweight prospect Jeremy Bryan had never previously encountered adversity in the ring.

Here it was, at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, in the eighth round of a fight he had been dominating. Vincent Arroyo, desperately behind and seeking an improbable final round knockout, struck gold with a left hook that stunned Bryan in the middle of the ring and pushed him to the ropes.

Arroyo continued swinging as Bryan lowered himself to take a knee. The first shot was a glancing blow; the second, which landed while Bryan was down, was devastatingly conclusive.

"It was like a nightmare," said Mike Skowronski, head trainer of the Paterson, NJ native Bryan. "I asked myself, 'Is this really happening?'" 

"I don't think Jeremy lost 30 seconds of any part of the bout, up until he got caught," Skowronski continued. "I didn't want to change anything going into the last round. I just told him, 'Do what you're doing.' Up until that point, I felt it was the best I had ever seen Jeremy look."

The ending, though controversial, would remain final after a protest lodged by Bryan's managers Pat Lynch and Sal Alessi failed to sway the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board to reverse the result to a no contest.

Bryan, now 13-1 (6 KO), says that what won't break him, will make him.

"I'm hungrier after this learning experience," said the 24-year-old Bryan, a two-time National Golden Gloves champion. "It's made me a better man. Just look at all the world champions, Manny Pacquiao he's got losses. The only great fighter that is undefeated is [Floyd] Mayweather Jr. I'd love to see [Arroyo] again."

Bryan's road to redemption begins this Saturday, August 21 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The card, promoted by Main Events and Ziggy Promotions, will be headlined by former light-heavyweight and cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek going up against former 90's heavyweight hope Michael Grant. Bryan will open up the televised portion of the card, which is available on pay-per-view at the price of $29.95.

Bryan's first opponent in the second portion of his career will be 28-year-old Daniel Mitchell of Pittsburgh, PA. Mitchell has a 5-1-1 (2 KO) record but has fought just twice since 2002. Like Bryan, Mitchell is also coming off his first pro loss; a 37 second knockout to Dannie Williams.

Skowronski didn't baby Bryan in his first camp back from the knockout. Instead, he lined up sparring with former junior welterweight champion Kendall Holt and two-time Venezuelan Olympian Patrick Lopez, who like Mitchell is a southpaw.

Skowronski feels that while the light-hitting Mitchell is unlikely to ask any new questions of "Hollywood" Bryan, training camp has resolved any lingering doubts from the Arroyo fight.

"There were days where I made Jeremy do 8 rounds with Lopez, just to see if there was a break somewhere or if something was off. He got hit with some shots and he came right back. To tell you the truth, I think the loss has made Jeremy a better fighter because he's not Mr. Nice Guy anymore." -RS
 
Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and a contributor to GMANews.TV. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com . An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ryansongalia .