Two entirely different scenes played out in the depths of Ottawa’s new Hard Rock Hotel & Casino at approximately 11:00 on Saturday night, following Argentinian Evelin Bermudez’s shocking first-round knockout of Etobicoke’s Sara Bailey to become Unified Light Flyweight World Champion.
In the blue corner dressing room, Bermudez — now with three of the four 108-pound belts firmly around her deceivingly powerful arms — and her team filmed celebration videos and posed for photos with other ‘visiting’ fighters from Latin America.
In the casino lobby, meanwhile, a despondent Bailey walked slowly toward the hotel listing off all those she felt she had let down.
Her promoter, the straight-shooting Tyler Buxton, and the Hard Rock fight venue: Both of which had dared to dream, bringing an unprecedented event to the nation’s capital; her plethora of sponsors and the West End Athletic Club — her gym, an ever-present image on her rapid ascent to World Champion status.
The late money had come in on Bailey, with insiders expecting her to outbox the battle-tested Bermudez, flipping the betting line in the hours before the opening bell: Nobody had foreseen the two crashing rights which ended the night early in the Argentine’s favour.
It occurred to me, as Bailey rattled off the names, that those very same people were now the ones lifting her up in defeat: Her West End family physically protecting her in a circle, shuffling across the casino floor with tender words and gentle embraces, while the venue, its executives and sponsors quickly rallied behind her on social media.
On Character
Outwardly, the two are a study in contrasts: Bailey a confident, media-friendly champ with an established brand, Bermudez the soft-spoken product of a humble boxing family who has learned to live in the big-fight limelight.
What is undeniable, however, having spent time with both in the lead-up to Saturday’s contest is their respective moral fibre: Both have it in spades, and are surrounded by good people.
The character of Bailey was reflected by the calibre of people around her: From her corner to the Hard Rock’s executives, to fellow pros and sponsors drawn in on her journey to the top, all felt a strong pull to be in the building on Saturday night. Among that group were some of the finest people I’ve met in sport.
In Bermudez’s corner stood an equally world-class set of people: Promoter Georgina Rivero runs one of the finest stables in her country, while father and trainer Tito Bermudez has helped two of his three daughters — all professionals — to World Titles.
In her post-fight interview, Bermudez bore her soul thanking (in order): Canadians, her parents and family, her longtime boyfriend, God and the Virgin and everyone back home in Argentina. At several points, she fought back tears.
The Trainers
So stunning was Saturday’s outcome that I lay awake in bed at the venue, turning over its implications.
Thoughts drifted toward the two trainers: Stevie Bailey, Sara’s husband and trainer, and the aforementioned Mr. Bermudez. Training a World Champion is one thing — navigating the emotions of Saturday’s first-round stoppage is difficult to fathom for any partner or parent, let alone one as close to the stunning end as these two.
Stevie is a strong man, undeniably one of the best trainers in Canada today and respected throughout the pro and amateur ranks; he is also a perfectionist who will inevitably turn Saturday’s events over in his mind for some time.
Tito sits as the patriarch to Argentina’s crown family of female boxing: Daniela and Evelin world champions, Rosana a veteran pro. Watching him burst with pride in the ring on Saturday felt like the embodiment of all that can be good in sport.
On the Future
For Bermudez, the path is clear: The one belt she does not own (the WBC’s) will be contested by Lourdes Juarez and Yesica Nery Plata on October 18th at a convention centre in Texas. After that, Historic Luna Park in Buenos Aires comes to mind as an appropriate location for an undisputed challenge against the winner.
For Bailey, it will be back to the drawing board: In the short term, understanding what went wrong on Saturday night, and in the long term mapping out a pathway back to the international stage.
As ring announcer, two obvious truths strike me in the aftermath of Saturday’s fight: Evelin Bermudez is a worthy champion and deserving of the opportunity to become undisputed on Argentine soil, and Sara Bailey has both the ability and backing to make a rapid return to the top of her sport.