Emma Dolan: A New Beginning

Emma Dolan: A New Beginning

On August 15th, Emma Dolan will start the next phase of her career against the Argentinian
Antonella Shirley Molina in Nottingham.

In April, Dolan (8-1) was unbeaten and the betting favourite to beat Irma Garcia and crown herself the IBF world super-flyweight champion of the world. But after a decent opening round, it went disastrously wrong for Dolan at the Olympia in London. Dropped twice in the second round, and again in the third, Dolan was rescued by her corner and saved for another day.

The overriding emotion on the night was that it was a result, and in a manner, that nobody saw coming. Looking for answers can often be problematic. Excuses or reasons is often a fine line. But for Dolan, her honesty when I spoke to her a few weeks after that devastating setback was admirable. The weight cut could have gone better. The focus wasn’t totally where it should have been. Dolan got caught early and tried to fight fire with fire, when survival would have been better served. In many ways, it was the perfect storm.

But it happens. Fighters lose. It doesn’t have to be the end of the road. We are all guilty of writing off a fighter after a defeat. Mark Chamberlain would testify to that. But a defeat can be the catalyst for a new beginning. With lessons learned, fighters can become better fighters because of a losing experience. It can make a fighter just as much as it can break a fighter.

Dolan will hope she can be that fighter. At just 28, there is no reason why she can’t return as a much better version of herself.

The fight with Molina is the crucial first step back. A chance to put that defeat to Garcia a little further into the rear-view mirror. Dolan wants to get back into the world title picture. She will need a fight to get her there. A win on August 15th, and Dolan will be presented with that type of fight. A big fight is already locked in. A victory there, and Emma Dolan would have got back much of what was lost against Garcia.