Terry Osias admits it: this defeat against Jean Pascal is hard to swallow. Especially since he put his health at risk in order to pursue his sporting dream.
Published yesterday at 6:52 p.m.
Frederic Daigle The Canadian Press
Osias (13-1, 6 KOs) lost Saturday to Jean Pascal (37-7-1, 21 KOs), who gave him a resounding KO in the 10th round of their North American Boxing Organization (NABO) light heavyweight title fight.
The loss will likely deprive him of a chance at a world title: everything seems to indicate that Pascal will now face Nova Scotian Ryan Rozicki for the World Boxing Council interim title. That opportunity would have gone to Osias had he won.
“I’m definitely disappointed,” Osias admitted in an interview with The Canadian Press on Monday. “It hurts. But I have good people around me and I’m a resilient person. It’s going to be okay, we’re going to get through this. But honestly, it hurts.”
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE
Osias (13-1, 6 KOs) lost Saturday to Jean Pascal (37-7-1, 21 KOs) yesterday
Osias is all the more disappointed because he put his health at risk to live his sporting dream. After battling lymphoma for 18 months, the 37-year-old boxer’s doctor wanted him to undergo a final course of chemotherapy.
“I had finished my treatments, but my doctor wanted me to do one last treatment to avoid a recurrence,” explained Osias, who is already back at work in his South Shore gym, TO Boxe Studio.
“The treatment will last a month. I’ve been putting it off for a year and a half for a big fight, like the one against Jean Pascal. I did it because I believed in myself.”
“It’s risky and I don’t recommend it to anyone. I did it to pursue my dream. I know that everyone has their challenges, their problems, but you can’t give up. […] So I guess I have another fight planned for next Friday. My fight is cancer again at the moment.”
Not ready
Osias, still on edge some 48 hours after the fight, does not want to end his career with this defeat, but he has not yet seen his last fight.
“I’m not ready. I’m still too emotional. I saw my fall again, though.”
Another thing he saw: the judges’ scorecard, two of whom had Pascal ahead, 86-85 and 89-82. A third had Osias leading 87-84.
“I’m surprised because Jean only hit me three times in the fight,” Osias said. “He hit me mostly on the arms. On my side, you could clearly see Jean’s head moving when I hit him. That was my game plan. If I had known, I would have gone harder. My plan was to box Jean, I think I executed it well. I give him credit for putting the pressure on.”
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE
Jean Pascal (left) gave Terry Osias a resounding KO in the 10th round
“I know that Jean has been world champion several times and I thought I had done enough to not have a gap like that,” he continued. “But I still lost by KO. It’s a shame, because it was only a second of inattention. It’s going to be hard to recover from that, but we’re going to come back strong.”
This seems to be the only mistake made by Osias in the fight.
The only mistake in the ring. The other mistake I made was tactically. I should have imposed myself physically. The boxing clinic wasn’t enough. I hurt him several times, but I didn’t capitalize.
Terry Osias
As for the violent knockout he suffered, he doesn’t remember anything.
“I don’t remember anything about the 10th. I remember the beginning of the round, then when I woke up with the doctor. I was then on the mat, and I got up to go to the locker room. I lost consciousness for about thirty seconds. I didn’t want to go to the hospital, but since I had lost consciousness, they took me to the emergency room.”
A few hours later, he emerged, surrounded by his family and friends who accompanied him. His return to the ring is not his priority for the moment.
“I have to digest this defeat. I would have liked to be champion, but unfortunately, I lost. The real champions are those who get back up and I will get back up,” he assured. “But it will be difficult. Right now, I am trying to find myself again. I don’t know yet what the rest of my career will look like.”
