Chloe Watson Can Come Again

Chloe Watson Can Come Again

It was incredibly hard not to feel sympathy for Chloe Watson last night. Another reversal on her record. Another decided by a wafer-thin margin. Another that could easily have gone her way. Watson suffered the third defeat of her professional career on Sunday night at the Olympia in London. The 21-year-old Teresa Mäkinen extended her unbeaten record with a 77-75 points decision after eight quality rounds. From ringside, I scored it to Watson by the same margin. Not for the first time, luck wasn’t on her side.

The Birkenhead fighter saw her unbeaten record ended last March when she lost her European flyweight title to Jasmina Zapotoczna at the Royal Albert Hall. Even though I had Zapotoczna winning on the night, it was a desperately close affair, and nobody would have complained if Watson had left the ring still the European flyweight champion. Watson lost to Shannon Ryan in her next fight. However, the manner of that defeat left both fighters incredibly frustrated. An accidental head clash left Watson with a badly swollen right eye, and after four completed rounds, the fight was waved off, with Ryan winning by technical decision. Their super-flyweight contest hadn’t really got started, and despite Ryan’s fast start, Watson was beginning to find her rhythm. Watson (9-3) is a good fighter. Her amateur pedigree and European title prove that. Those three defeats don’t really tell the whole story. In truth, some of her defeats are better than some of her rivals wins. Losing to the likes of Zapotoczna, Ryan, and Mäkinen in the manner that they happened, still indicates Watson can be a champion again down the road. At 26, Chloe Watson can certainly come again.

The former European champion still has major fights in her future. Watson will likely need a few wins to get back into the title picture, but she is young enough and good enough to bounce back. Watson will hope that, for once, lady luck is on her side.

Photo Credit: Most Valuable Promotions