The most-talked-about heavyweight anomaly in the sport, Christopher Lovejoy, has revealed he almost got knocked out in his very first bout.
Facing Aron Alexis Franco in February 2016 on both of their debuts, Lovejoy told a story recently of how he nearly got stopped early on.
It happened despite Franco giving up over 80 pounds in weight.
“I almost got knocked out in my first pro fight,” Lovejoy told Sky Sports. “My first ever boxing match, the opponent was a little guy.
“As soon as the bell rings, he rushes me and throws a 30-punch combo!
“He clips me, almost knocked me out. I had to gather myself then I knocked the guy out.
“The matchmaker said after: ‘At least we know you’ve got a chin!’
“After that, I said: ‘I’ll never come here again unless I’m prepared to go the distance.'”
At 15-0, Lovejoy amazingly fought Franco again despite the Mexicano being knocked out twice in the interim and not fighting for two years.
This time around, Franco had piled on 63 pounds. The result was even quicker in Lovejoy’s favor. The fight last 37 seconds.
Before that, Lovejoy told revealed another outing where he felt he could lose.
“In my sixth fight, the guy went a whole round with me. I was so tired. I was thinking: ‘If this goes another round, I don’t know what might happen.'”
“But I’m a risk-taker. I’ve got the size. So I went for it.”
CHRISTOPHER LOVEJOY
Concluding on why he decided to turn pro with no amateur experience, Lovejoy said: “It was the only route I had.
“It was on-the-job training. I was learning how to fight.”
Lovejoy’s record at 19-0 with 19 KO’s and all in the first three rounds reads like a definitive list of Mexican heavyweights nobody should fight.
In those victories, only 57 triumphs have transpired between all opponents – an average of three per fighter.
Another outing in Mexico is now touted for later in the year after Lovejoy scrapped real tests against Dave Allen and Bermane Stiverne.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay.
WBN Editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews.
