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Joseph Adorno’s loss to Michel Rivera was precisely the kind of setback the previously unbeaten boxer believes he needed to remind him to work harder if he wants to succeed at the highest level.
The Allentown, Pa., native was overconfident before Rivera of the Dominican Republic outpointed him in a 10-round bout that Showtime televised March 26 from The Armory in Minneapolis. The 23-year-old Adorno (16-1-2, 14 KOs) has knocked out two outmatched opponents with losing records since his loss to Rivera (23-0, 14 KOs), but the junior welterweight sees his 10-round bout against Hugo Alberto Roldan on Friday night as an opportunity to earn his way back to a more meaningful fight in the 140-pound division.
Showtime will broadcast Adorno-Roldan as the main event of a “ShoBox: The New Generation” tripleheader from Bally’s Event Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey (9 pm ET). Roldan is unbeaten (21-0-1, 7 KOs), but Adorno represents a significant step up in class for the 29-year-old Argentine.
“This fight is definitely an opportunity to restart my career a little bit,” said Adorno. “After the loss, I see this as my recovery. I am determined to make up for what happened that night. [against Rivera]. I am extremely happy I got the call and can’t wait for the doorbell to ring. I’m so excited for this fight I don’t even know how to explain it.”
Adorno gladly replaced teammate Shinard Bunch (19-1-1, 16 KOs) as Roldan’s opponent last month after Bunch pulled out for undisclosed reasons.
“I think Adorno is a tougher fighter than the first opponent he was supposed to face,” Roldan said of Bunch. “But it’s also a good opportunity to show everyone what I can do against a fighter of this caliber. … I know that my opponent is a good puncher, but I also love to fight, and I will follow my strategy and adapt to what the fighter in front of me does. I will work around what is available over the course of the fight.”
A refocused Adorno, who struggled to make weight when he campaigned as a lightweight, wants to prove he’s a different fighter than the man Rivera beat by the same margin, 97-93, on all three scorecards.
“I learned a lot in that fight against Rivera,” said Adorno. “I learned that I need to be a little more active. I learned that the undefeated record is not everything. Everybody wants to protect it, so you want to fight to protect that ‘0’. But I think I needed that loss.
“I needed that loss to focus more and learn that you’re not going to be perfect every time, so you have to keep working hard. The more you work, the better you become. Before that loss, she thought she was unbeatable. helped me. It opened my eyes a lot. I am grateful for that loss. It woke me up and it’s the reason I’m working the way I am now.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
