Boxing

 

A Fighters First Loss

Ron Widelec

19.02 - Over the past few years, it seems, many of the world's best fighters have, after years of uninterrupted victories, been handed their first loss. This first loss is an inevitability, with very few exceptions in history, yet in the last couple of years it seems to be happening even more often than usual. We have seen fighters once thought unbeatable losing decisions, being sprawled out on the canvas, and in some cases, flying through the ropes and out of the ring completely.

In 1999 Oscar de la Hoya, who was 31-0, seemed like he was never going to meet his match. Yet he did, in Felix Trinidad, another undefeated fighter (35-0 at the time). Trinidad then seemed invincible, until his fateful run in with Bernard Hopkins in 2001. Shane Mosley, the second man to beat de la Hoya (and the only one to do it without controversy) then took on this same air of invincibility. Mosley then had his aura crushed by undefeated Vernon Forrest, who himself was recently dethroned by Ricardo Mayorga. These are just a few of the fighters that have recently received their first loss. Each has reacted differently to this first set back, and their careers and legacies have changed as well.

Examining the essence of being undefeated is the difficult. What is it about being undefeated that is so important? Why is it that some fighters can never recover from that first loss, and others come back even better than before? Why do fans see undefeated fighters as "undefeatable"? There are some key examples that must be analyzed in order to answer these questions.

Mike Tyson was undefeated in the late 80's. When he was finally beaten in 1990 by Buster Douglas, Tyson lost what little mental stability that he had. As a fighter, Tyson lost the confidence that he had in himself. Even so, his fans, and many experts, still believed in his invincibility. For Tyson, his first loss did little to convince fans that he was indeed human, and therefore, beatable. Even now, with three more losses, many of his staunchest fan(atics) still see him as the best heavyweight.

It seemed like nothing could stop Oscar De la Hoya in the 90's. In 1999 De la Hoya was 31-0, and was the best welterweight in the world. Then he met fellow undefeated welterweight Felix Trinidad. Oscar lost a controversial decision, with many fans feeling that Oscar won. Yet, De la Hoya made a serious comeback, and is today once again considered one of the worlds best fighters. He has moved to 154 pounds and is now considered the best fighter at that weight after beating Fernando Vargas. De la Hoya came back from his loss with a new desire, to prove to the world that he is one of the greatest fighters of this generation. Fighters that take this path are the ones that are truly remembered down the line.

De la Hoya conqueror, Felix Trinidad, was undefeated until 2001. Then he moved to middleweight and was thoroughly out-boxed, and knocked out in the 12th, by Bernard Hopkins. Trinidad's situation was very different than Oscar's. When Trinidad lost there was no question about it. He was beaten without controversy, yet the Trinidad fans refused to believe that Hopkins was better. A long line of excuses was instead used to make up for the loss. Tito fans still, to this day, claim that Tito would win that fight if they had an immediate rematch. Trinidad took one more fight, and then retired. A far cry from De la Hoya reaction to the loss.

Shane Mosley, another De la Hoya conqueror, also recently received his first loss. He lost to the once undefeated Vernon Forrest. Forrest clobbered Shane on route to a easy 12 round decision. Shane responded by forcing an immediate rematch to re-earn his legacy, but lost again in a closer decision. Since then Shane moved to 154, trying to follow De la Hoya's model for recovery, but has been unsuccessful as of yet.

Some fighters refuse to accept their first loss, or any loss for that matter. The fighter than comes to mind is Roy Jones Jr. Roy Jones only loss came as a disqualification loss to Montell Griffin. Jones continued to hit Griffin after Griffin took a knee, and was disqualified. Regardless of the fact that the fight was extremely close (one judge had Griffin ahead at the time) Jones refuses to accept the loss, and the DQ gives him some leverage with that. Jones insecurities have led him to go to certain extremes to boost his confidence (despite that fact that he is one of the greatest fighters in the world, and has beaten a slew of top rated fighters, he is a very insecure person). Before his last fight, in between his 'rap' entrance and his demolition of Clinton Woods he felt the need to make the announcer give a long winded speech about all Jones' titles and wins, and of course to explain that his one loss was a disqualification, and top tell the world that Jones won the rematch in one round. Just incase we didn't already know!

Now, Vernon Forrest has received his first loss as well. His loss came to Ricardo Mayorga a few weeks ago. Mayorga pounded Forrest out in three rounds. Tim Austin got his first loss last weekend, as well. We are still waiting to see how they will react.

Different fighters react in different ways to that first loss, depending on their personality and they way in which that loss occurred. Recent prospects Bajado and Ricky Williams will now have to deal with it as well; time for them to prove their mettle in the ring, and show that they are the real deal, despite the set back. Keep in mind, Bernard Hopkins lost his first professional fight, and look where he is now. Maybe its better to taste defeat early, it will keep you honest in the ring.

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