Joshua Greer Jr was considered by many to be an emerging bantamweight contender going into his June 16 fight with Mike Plania on ESPN, and was expected to pick up the win that night.
But Greer was the first fighter on the Top Rank Summer Series to suffer an upset loss, as Plania dropped him twice and held on for a decision win.
The 26-year-old Greer (22-2-1, 12 KO) has said pretty much all the right things since the loss, and continued to do so in a chat with our colleague Marcos Villegas of Fight Hub TV.
“It was a great learning experience for me. I made some mistakes in the fight that cost me the fight and I rallied too late,” Greer admitted. “But it’s all a good learning experience, and it lit my flame. I’m eager and more hungry to come back and make a statement and just be great.”
Specifically on the mistakes, he pointed out the obvious flaw that got him caught with two zinging lead left hooks, and saw him wind up on the canvas both times.
“I was keeping my right hand down when I jabbed,” he said, “and I found out he couldn’t fight inside a little too late. He held on at the end, he was already up on points, and it cost me the fight.”
The Chicago native is looking forward to getting his comeback started, and has no problem admitting the loss hit him hard.
“I’m a very competitive person. The first night it really hit me hard. It was really a devastating moment for me, it was surreal,” he said. “The next morning, though, I woke up with a plan, and I said, ‘I’m gonna get better.’ I’m already starting my planning and looking forward to my road to redemption.”
Greer, who has obvious skills and talent but has had close calls and shown inconsistency in each of his past three fights, also refused to short-change Plania (24-1, 12 KO) or say he didn’t take the opponent seriously.
“He did the right things at the right moment. I won’t take anything from him,” Greer said, adding, “I don’t underestimate anybody, I didn’t underestimate him at all. There’s tape of him, but the tape doesn’t mean anything. That’s why being a great fighter is about making adjustments, because if you look at the tape, all of his recent fights are against guys that you couldn’t see much. The guys didn’t bring much to the table. But it’s all a learning experience and about making adjustments on the fly. That’s what makes great fighters.”
He does want to try and even the score with the 23-year-old Filipino, too.
“I’m looking forward to having a rematch and fixing all those mistakes and making the adjustments early, and going straight through the gate.”