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With The Past Behind Him,
Booker's Ready To Change Gears
Coming off his first career loss after 17 successful bouts,
Chordale Booker could’ve done what a lot of fighters do
these days. He could’ve pointed fingers. He could’ve made
excuses. He could’ve cleaned house internally and found a
new team.
Instead, Booker looked in the mirror and decided any
necessary changes to whatever routine, tradition, or game
plan that didn’t work would start with him. So the Chordale
Booker you see Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena in his
long-awaited return to the ring isn’t necessarily a
"new-look" Booker. It’s the same Chordale Booker with the
same team and a new chip on his shoulder.
"I’m not the type of fighter that when they lose, they throw
out the whole ship. That ship got me to 17-0," said Booker,
who faces middleweight Angel Hernandez in an eight-round
bout Saturday on the undercard of CES Boxing’s Winter Brawl.
"We’re going to sit down, reassess what happened, and get
back to it. I talk to my team like men. We’re going to come
back stronger and better, and that road begins this
weekend."
Tickets for Winter Brawl are available online at
CESFights.com, MoheganSun.com, or at the Mohegan Sun box
office. The event is headlined by heavyweight "The Sicilian
Nightmare" Juiseppe Cusumano (21-4, 19 KOs) facing "The
Hungarian Hammer" Istvan Bernath (10-1, 8 KOs) in the
10-round main event in addition to Worcester, MA,
featherweight Irvin Gonzalez Jr. (15-3, 11 KOs) battling
Dominican Dannis Aguero Arias (19-2, 16 KOs) in an
eight-round bout for the vacant WBC Silver 126-pound title.
The setback Booker (17-1, 7 KOs) is referring to is his
April 30 first-round knockout loss to Austin Williams at
Madison Square Garden, a wild anomaly on an unblemished
record that began more than six years ago when he turned pro
in 2016.
As a late bloomer, the Stamford, CT, southpaw has never
fallen into the trap of taking bad career advice from those
in the industry who don’t have best interests in mind. He
started boxing at the age of 19 and turned pro at 24. So
while 31 may be considered past the prime years for most
fighters, Booker "absolutely" feels he’s in his prime, hence
why he’s in no need to rush the process, even coming off a
loss in April.
"My prime will hit different," said Booker, who is managed
by Paul Guarino of PG Sports. "I don’t care what anyone says
about my age. It’s probably why I don’t get the same
opportunities some of the young guys get, but I don’t have
to be on the same path as everyone else.
"This is my own race. I’m not trying to compete with anyone
but myself."
When looking back at the fight against Williams, Booker
admits he wasn’t in the right head space, perhaps pulled in
different directions by distractions outside the right –
life’s obligations that fans often forget professional
athletes still have to deal with despite their place in the
limelight.
At the same time, Booker also admits his meteoric rise to
the top of the 160-pound division gave him some false
illusions, the idea that he could "cut corners" from time to
time and still succeed. He learned otherwise in April, and
it might be the lesson he needed to turn the corner.
"I took it personal. That’s exactly what I did," Booker
said. "I don’t like losing. I don’t train this hard and give
up everything I’ve got just to lose and be mediocre. I’ve
spent some time taking the sport for granted. I’ve got a lot
of talent and because of that I don’t do everything I’m
supposed to.
"Not anymore. Every lesson we learn in life is because we’ve
gotten too comfortable. I’m ready to move on to something
bigger."
The journey back to the top begins Saturday. Booker has a
chip on his shoulder, plenty to fight for, and many prime
years left as he begins the next chapter. Fighting in front
of his hometown fans will be the icing on the cake.
"I’ve never fought at Mohegan, so I’ve very excited," he
said. "Nothing brings the best out of me like fighting in
front of my friends and family. They’re excited to come out
for this one. I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am
with the support I’ve been getting since we announced this
fight. It’s been very motivating and I’m anxious to get back
in that ring come Saturday."
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