Sometimes You CAN Win For Losing
By William Trillo
Photos: Mathroom Boxing (Golovkin vs. Brook)
Chris Farina (Gonzalez vs. Cuadras/Kamegai vs. Soto Karass)
Over this past weekend boxing fans were treated to some very gritty and gutsy performances inside the squared circle. The grits and guts were supplied by Kell Brook, Carlos Cuadras and Jesus Soto-Karass. The common denominator for these three warriors is that they came up on the short end in their respective contests inside the squared circle.
Contrary to the opinion of some who think a loss is a death sentence, I have always been of the thinking that a loss can be the very best thing for your career if you learn from it and never make the same mistakes again.
For Brook and Cuadras this would be the first time they tasted defeat. With the right mindset both men should return to become Champions again. For Karass, this is not the first time he lost, but hopefully it will be the last time.
Brook
I think most of us can admit when this fight was first announced we were sure Kell had ZERO chance to harm Golovkin. As we know now we were wrong. For the time he stood toe to toe with GGG we can all now agree that Brook’s performance is worthy of note and every 154 pounder on the planet should be afraid, very afraid.
I am also pretty sure most of us would admit that when the fight was brought to an abrupt halt we thought his corner acted too quickly and should have let their man fight on. But…now that we know GGG literally crushed Brook’s face and he will require surgery to put it back together, we can agree the right decision was made when the surrender towel came flying in.
When Kell returns I would like to see him start his tear in the 154 pound division with the Charlo brothers. Brook would destroy both of these guys inside of 6. I expect that like the rest of their stable the Charlo’s will head for the hills and try to avoid Brook like the plague.
Cuadras
Let me say that I am of the opinion that the judges got it right in the Los Angeles Main Event on Saturday night. That being said, Cuadras has nothing to be ashamed of. He gave every ounce of himself in this war on Saturday night. He came up short and left without his belt but I am positive he will not only return but will be in another title fight soon. In fact, most are saying this fight was worthy of a rematch and I do agree with that. The fight was close and I have never seen anyone put so much hurt on Gonzalez.
This one screams for a rematch.
Karass
When Karass got hurt immediately in round one I thought this rematch with Kamegai was going to end quickly. But as always Karass found a way to get through that first troubling round and fight on to show the fans why this fight deserved the rematch. As tough as he was though, Kamegai just seemed to be a bit sharper with his punches all night. Karass was hurt a couple more time but refused to quit. Jesus is truly one fighter who would die in the ring before he rolled over. But the writing was on the wall after eight and like the corner in the Brook fight, the Soto-Karass corner did the right thing and did not let this fight go any farther. It was the right thing to do.
Truthfully, Jesus Soto-Karass has given the fans nothing but his 100% best throughout his career. A career by the way, that has seen and beaten some of the biggest names in boxing. Just when it appeared his career was over and he was sent packing by his promoter and he was picked up by Golden Boy and surprised everyone with some very fine performances. But now it looks like he is in the twilight of his career and if he chooses to retire we should all stand and applaud the warrior for a job well done.
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Brook will need about six months to recover from his fight with GGG and then he should move down to light middleweight. The trouble is the only top fighter in that division who is likely to agree to face him is Liam Smith, and Smith would win that one. That leaves him with a long wait to try and become a mandatory challenger.
As for GGG, I think this marks the beginning of the end of his reign as world champion. Naturally bigger, younger men who punch harder than Brook will have noticed the complete lack of head movement from Golovkin and fancy their chances. I’m not saying he will lose his next fight, but from now on the top challengers to GGG will be trying to win rather than hoping to survive.
Yes, Brook needs to rehab properly so he doesnt end up looking like Margarito. Kell could beat both the Charlos on the same night…at the same time, but as you and I know they will duck and cover and never give him a sniff. Smith has to get past Canelo first, then we can talk about Brook.
There was certainly something wrong with GGG Saturday night. I am still leaning to him being sick even though everyone on his team denies it. If he wasn’t sick then we have to explore what the problem was…or is. If the next fight is Jacobs GGG will blow through him in 2 rounds.
Anyone who can get hurt and knocked down by Mora has no business sharing a ring with Golovkin. More about Smith – Alvarez later.