http://www.boxingnewsonline.net JULY 25, 2019 lBOXING NEWSl 29
WHEN
DISASTER
STRIKES
John Dennen hears Charlie Edwards, Amir Khan and Rocky
Fielding reflect on experiencing a crushing loss
IS phone had gone silent.
He knew that after his bout
with Canelo Alvarez, the
media attention, the calls,
the interest would all fade.
But Rocky Fielding had
not expected it to die
off so
abruptly and so completely.
The weeks after the contest
blended into months and,
as far as the wider boxing
world was concerned, it was
finished with Rocky Fielding.
“My phone didn’t stop
going off before the fight,
once you’re on that losing
side that’s it then,” Fielding
told Boxing News.
Before boxing Canelo he’d
had DAZN, ESPN, Mexican TV following him, charting
his progress. “Because it was that high profile a fight
and everything, it was all new to me,” he said. “It’s all
new things like that.
“I enjoyed it all but it was non-stop.”In New York his name and face were plastered
across Madison Square Garden, on top of taxis, it
was hard to avoid. He went to Disneyland with his
family after the fight and some of that recognition still
lingered. “I was walking around Disneyland and you’re
getting Mexicans that recognised me. The
day before I was in Madison Square Garden
fighting Canelo. The next day
I’m pushing the baby around
in a pram, drinking Bud Lite
and I’m getting stopped for
pictures. It’s crazy,” he said.
That though was forgotten
swiftly. Fielding was left to
nurse the bruises after being
battered by Canelo inside
three rounds and the shame
that stays with a fighter after
such a loss. “Take all that
away, I lost. I’m a fighter,
I don’t like losing and that’s what happened. That’s
why I’ve just got to get back in the gym and get back
focused on the next one and keep going,” he said. “It’ll
be hard to top fighting at Madison Square Garden
against Canelo, but it’ll be hard now to be ➤H
YOU LOSE IN BOXING
AND FRIENDS
THROW YOU UNDER
A BUS. THEY SAY
YOU’RE FINISHED”