What do modern day legends Thomas Hearns, Meldrick Taylor, Joe Frazier and Pernell Whitaker all have in common? They all achieved greatness in defeat (or in the case of “Sweet Pea,” greatness was achieved by way of a draw).
Hearns went to war with Marvin Hagler, in losing elevating his own legend enormously. Taylor came within seconds (just two to be exact) of becoming the first man to defeat the greatest Mexican fighter of all-time, Julio Cesar Chavez. While Frazier pushed the greatest heavyweight in history to the point of seeing death.
It is possible that the loser of tomorrow’s massive and historically significant middleweight title fight between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez (never before has a champion boxer been so easily identified by his nickname) could also achieve greatness in defeat. Indeed, when fans walk away from a truly great fight, they appreciate the heroic efforts of both men; even if the winner has that extra edge in terms of celebration and applause.
Hearns, Frazier, Whitaker and Taylor walked away from defeat (or a draw) having earned a ton of plaudits from the boxing world, and it is wholly possible the second man, or the runner-up in tomorrow’s big fight will do likewise. It’s true: no fighter who gives his best has anything to be ashamed of – ever!
And Canelo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya – a great fighter who had to walk away from a few losing but still glorious fights during his own ring career – has spoken of what it might mean should Alvarez suffer defeat at the hands of the middleweight king known as Triple-G.
“What I’m thinking is, I hope it’s a great fight,” De La Hoya said as captured by Fight Hub TV. “And obviously I know it’s gonna be a great fight because of their styles. But, yeah, Canelo’s our guy. Canelo’s boxing’s only star right now – now that Mayweather’s retired, now that Pacquiao is at the tail end of his career. Canelo is the guy for the sport of boxing that we dearly love. So if he loses, then, you know what, so be it. He’ll live to see another day in the ring – as long as he loses great. As long as he gives us a great fight, that’s all that matters to me.”
Mexican warrior Canelo WILL give GGG, and the millions of fight fans tuning in, a great fight; that much appears to be a given. But will we really see the sport’s biggest, or only star, go down a notch, at least in the opinion of those people who cannot tolerate a loser under any circumstances, if Alvarez comes up ever so slightly short tomorrow night in Vegas?
Or will the legend of Canelo only grow in defeat, the way Hearns, Frazier, Whitaker and Taylor saw their legend grow in defeat?
Whose defeat would shock you more: Canelo’s or Golovin’s?