Gary Shaw on Thomas Dulorme: 'I haven't given up hope'

Speaking with BoxingScene.com's David P. Greisman, promoter Gary Shaw says that he's not giving up on Puerto Rican welterweight prospect Thomas Dulorme following Dulorme's loss to Carlos Abregu on HBO, and that he'll bring the fighter back just as he has in the past following losses from Vic Darchinyan and Antonio DeMarco.

"I think he’s still a future star. Everybody who knows me knows I tell it like it is: I thought he should’ve fought southpaw and stayed southpaw. I don’t know why he switched up. I don’t know why he circled the wrong way. But even after the second knockdown in the seventh road, he was still ahead on both cards, but the trainer thought that he should go and stop the fight. That’s the trainer’s prerogative; I’m only sitting in the fan’s seat at that point."

Dulorme (16-1, 12 KO) is in one of those spots that fighters either get past or don't, more or less. At 22, it's not like the clock is ticking on his career; the clock hasn't even really started. And his team knew for a fact that Abregu (34-1, 28 KO) was a tough proposition. That's why they made clear they wanted more money for that fight, to take that risk. Dulorme's team wanted Nick Casal, and HBO said no, which was curious given that they'd approved Edwin Rodriguez vs Jason Escalera for a few weeks prior, but that's another story for another day.

Dulorme is a talented young fighter, but I've had reservations about him. I didn't quite see him as the blue-chip, can't-miss prospect some did, and Abregu didn't really expose him so much as just beat him, in my estimation. Abregu's a solid pro, a strong guy at 147 who took advantage of the mistakes Dulorme made, and if he exposed anything, it was Dulorme's lack of experience. Those things happen. Young fighters can learn from that.

But will Dulorme learn and get better and come back strong, or will he fade from here? That's the big question, and we have no idea what Dulorme's made of mentally. I do know that he got up off his ass every time Abregu put him down, and came back trying to win the fight, and I think that says something.

So we'll see, but I'd give Dulorme a good shot at rebounding. Shaw says they'll figure out if he should be at 140 or 147, and they'll bring him back. Shaw's experienced in handling guys needing a rebound and guiding them back into the spotlight, as he says. Whether or not Dulorme can be classed with Darchinyan and DeMarco -- true tough guys, mentally and physically -- is what remains to be seen.