By John F. McKenna (McJack): Of course no fighter ever wants to lose a fight, especially a fighter who is on the way up and appears to have the boxing world at his feet. Many times in boxing history fighters have lost when victory seemed certain.

When Joe Louis lost to Max Schmeling in 1936 he appeared to be unbeatable. He was mowing all his opponents down, most of them with ease. When he fought Max Baer in 1935, Baer was terrified at the prospect of fighting him and had to be half drug into the ring by his trainer the great Jack Dempsey. After a firefight in the third round, in which Baer bounced a couple of ineffectual bombs off Louis’s chin, Baer lost heart and was quickly knocked out. After the last knockdown, when it appeared that Max could have gotten up reporters asked him why he had not tried to get up. His classic quote was “I signed up for a boxing match, not a murder!”

After the Baer victory, Louis started taking his opponents lightly, thinking that all he had to do was show up and victory would be assured. He spent a considerable amount of time playing golf, which was his new passion. Training temporarily began to take a back seat. Even Louis’s trainer Jake Bladburn was not able to stress the importance of training to the still youthful “Brown Bomber” as he prepared for his fight with Max Schmeling.

As it turned out Louis was beaten badly by Schmeling and he was finally knocked out in the twelfth round. As painful as it was, Louis learned a valuable lesson in his loss to Schmeling. He went on to became a great fighter, holding the Heavyweight Championship for twelve years and defending his title twenty five times. Both of those records stand to this day. Joe started taking training seriously again and was back in the ring in three months.

When “Sugar” Ray Robinson lost his first pro fight in 1943 to Jake Lamotta after forty three straight victories, he redoubled his efforts. He avenged his loss to the “Bronx Bull” three weeks later and did not lose another fight for eight years, winning his next ninety fights in a row.

Vladimir Klitschko lost three fights early in his career after which he turned his career around. He hired Emanuel Steward and revamped his training regimen. Since that time Vladimir has not lost a fight and has become one of the most dominant Heavyweight Champions in decades. Klitschko himself has acknowledged that his loss to Ross Puritty was the defining moment when he began to turn things around.

There is a long list of fighters who have gone on to have great careers after suffering what appeared to be a devastating loss. Manny Pacquiao comes to mind as a fighter who lost three fights and went on to win not only fighter of the decade, but multiple championships along the way to redemption.

Of course it takes heart and a lot of courage to turn things around. One of the dangers for a young fighter is to start believing his own press clippings. Joe Louis noted at the end of his career that all the people who had been in his corner were now in the victor’s corner. Just like life itself, boxing is sometimes cruel. Andre Berto hopefully will rebound from his loss last Saturday night and go on to have a great career. He obviously has a lot of skill. He can use his loss to Victor Ortiz as a learning experience, albeit a bitter one.