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At least three of six participants in the Super Six Boxing Classic will likely lose for the first time in the tournament, an experience from which it can be difficult to bounce back. Amir Khan, the talented junior welterweight , was stopped in one round by Breidis Prescott but bounced back to win a major title less than a year later. Jorge Linares, promoted by Oscar De La Hoya, lost his junior lightweight belt and his prefect record last week; we’ll see how he responds. Of course, De La Hoya was no exception to the rule that virtually everyone loses. However, his first setback was a controversial one, a disputed majority decision to Felix Trinidad in 1999. Before that, he hadn’t lost since he fell to Marco Rudolph in the first round of the amateur World Championships in 1991. De La Hoya discusses in his blog first losses and what it takes to bounce back from them.
The first loss is the most devastating event that can ever happen to a fighter, especially one who people were expecting a lot of things from. Your world comes crashing down. And it’s up to you and only you to lift yourself up from the ground and start again with a different plan. It can be good for you or bad for you, depending on the individual.
I took my first loss pretty hard. In my case it was a little different because of the fan base I had, though. The fans at that time started to recognize how good I was, started to give me credit. They were telling me I didn’t lose that fight. That was important for me. That told me I should dedicate myself even more and become a world champion again, which is exactly what I did. I worked harder and came back.
In a lot of cases fighters don’t know how to deal with a first loss while others can grow from it. My reaction when I heard that Linares was knocked out was that I wanted to see it. Right away I went on YouTube to watch it; the fight was already up. I was devastated and surprised that he had lost. After I watched the replay, though, I knew he’d bounce back. It wasn’t like he got pummeled for 12 rounds; he got caught in the temple and then the guy bombarded him, which forced the referee to stop it.
The key to coming back is the next fight. It’s one thing to get crushed for 12 rounds, where you might leave something in the ring. It’s another thing if you get knocked out like Amir Khan or Linares or Victor Ortiz, to a certain extent. The question is: How do you deal with your next fight? Some fighters fold; some rise to the occasion and become better. That’s what Khan did, rise to the occasion.
I haven’t talked to Jorge yet but I’ll tell him that “things happen for a reason, that you’ll be a much better fighter if you know how to grow from it. Let the past be the past. Just make sure you learn from it. Train smarter, train harder. And be sure you understand that no one is invincible inside the ring.”
I think the most important moment in bouncing back is taking that first punch in the next fight, which should convince you that you can take it. You can’t fight scared. Once the bell rings you’re natural reaction might be, “I hope he doesn’t catch me with a good punch. He’s going to knock me out again.” You have to go in with the mentality of, “I trained hard, I’m in the best shape of my life, I can take this guy’s punch. If he hits me, OK, I’m ready for it.” A lot of fighters get scared; they fight defensively. Then, as the rounds go by, your confidence declines and you become a fighter who just isn’t confident anymore.
One thing that also is important to remember is that a loss isn’t the end of the world. That’s the mentality that we have to change in boxing. A loss doesn’t necessarily make or break your career. All that matters is how you respond. If you come back strong and confident, people probably will respect you more. If you get blown away and then fight with hesitation the next fight, it can hurt your career. Everyone loses; it just depends on how you come back.
In the Super Six tournament, the best are fighting the best. A loss in that tournament is definitely not the end of your career. I think this tournament is actually the beginning for a lot of those guys. I think a loss could actually be good for their careers, depending on how they lose. If they lose but look good doing it and then come back strong, they could actually make a lot of fans.
And I think that’s true for any fighter after his suffers his first loss
ringtv.com
The first loss is the most devastating event that can ever happen to a fighter, especially one who people were expecting a lot of things from. Your world comes crashing down. And it’s up to you and only you to lift yourself up from the ground and start again with a different plan. It can be good for you or bad for you, depending on the individual.
I took my first loss pretty hard. In my case it was a little different because of the fan base I had, though. The fans at that time started to recognize how good I was, started to give me credit. They were telling me I didn’t lose that fight. That was important for me. That told me I should dedicate myself even more and become a world champion again, which is exactly what I did. I worked harder and came back.
In a lot of cases fighters don’t know how to deal with a first loss while others can grow from it. My reaction when I heard that Linares was knocked out was that I wanted to see it. Right away I went on YouTube to watch it; the fight was already up. I was devastated and surprised that he had lost. After I watched the replay, though, I knew he’d bounce back. It wasn’t like he got pummeled for 12 rounds; he got caught in the temple and then the guy bombarded him, which forced the referee to stop it.
The key to coming back is the next fight. It’s one thing to get crushed for 12 rounds, where you might leave something in the ring. It’s another thing if you get knocked out like Amir Khan or Linares or Victor Ortiz, to a certain extent. The question is: How do you deal with your next fight? Some fighters fold; some rise to the occasion and become better. That’s what Khan did, rise to the occasion.
I haven’t talked to Jorge yet but I’ll tell him that “things happen for a reason, that you’ll be a much better fighter if you know how to grow from it. Let the past be the past. Just make sure you learn from it. Train smarter, train harder. And be sure you understand that no one is invincible inside the ring.”
I think the most important moment in bouncing back is taking that first punch in the next fight, which should convince you that you can take it. You can’t fight scared. Once the bell rings you’re natural reaction might be, “I hope he doesn’t catch me with a good punch. He’s going to knock me out again.” You have to go in with the mentality of, “I trained hard, I’m in the best shape of my life, I can take this guy’s punch. If he hits me, OK, I’m ready for it.” A lot of fighters get scared; they fight defensively. Then, as the rounds go by, your confidence declines and you become a fighter who just isn’t confident anymore.
One thing that also is important to remember is that a loss isn’t the end of the world. That’s the mentality that we have to change in boxing. A loss doesn’t necessarily make or break your career. All that matters is how you respond. If you come back strong and confident, people probably will respect you more. If you get blown away and then fight with hesitation the next fight, it can hurt your career. Everyone loses; it just depends on how you come back.
In the Super Six tournament, the best are fighting the best. A loss in that tournament is definitely not the end of your career. I think this tournament is actually the beginning for a lot of those guys. I think a loss could actually be good for their careers, depending on how they lose. If they lose but look good doing it and then come back strong, they could actually make a lot of fans.
And I think that’s true for any fighter after his suffers his first loss
ringtv.com