By Gavin Howie: Sometimes coming back from a defeat can benefit more than a win and shows the test of character more than a win ever could.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
In recent times, we have had some big, surprising losses—Fury, Joshua, Bivol—but all can and do come back.
Growing up, I followed the greats in the late 1990s and early 2000s and saw the likes of Mike Tyson live. There was one clear leader in this division: Lennox Lewis.
This was a man who had been KO’d twice by boxers in history and could not lace his boots, but each time, he wanted revenge and got it. He will go down in history, second none to the great Rocky Marciano to defeat every heavyweight they ever fought.
Daniel Dubois, who recently recovered from losses against Joe Joyce and Oleksandr Usyk, still had it in him to pick himself up and defeat the biggest draw in British sport, Anthony Joshua.
The great Bernhard Hopkins lost his very first fight at Light Heavyweight but came back, all the way down a weight, to become one of the best Middleweight champions of all time.
One of my favorite success stories in British boxing is Johnny Nelson. Although he lacked confidence, he just needed a win to gain momentum. Despite losing his first three professional bouts, Nelson ended his career as a champion with 20 wins and no defeats.
A loss is never the end it is made out to be; it can make or break you.
Opinions on the great comebacks…
Joshua has chosen not to take an immediate rematch with Dubois, and it’s believed that he’s going to sit and wait it out for the rematch of the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 fight to fight the Gypy King next. It doesn’t matter if Fury loses to Usyk again. Joshua is likely going to fight him next in Riyadh.