Knocked Out Again: The Strange Case of Welterweight George ‘El Terrible’ Sosa
Editorial By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
On February 17, 2018, Philadelphia welterweight veteran George ‘El Terrible’ Sosa was stopped at 2:21 of the fifth round by middleweight contender Tony Harrison at the Don Haskins Convention Center in El Paso, Texas. Below the BoxRec loss entry for this bout, appears his next scheduled bout 37 days later with former two-time world title challenger Tommy Browne of Australia at the Miami Airport Convention Center in Miami, Florida on March 24, 2018, with a telephone number listed to contact to buy tickets.
Never before he as a knocked out fighter had tickets advertised with a telephone number for his next bout the following month on BoxRec. Knocked out again and again. Such is the strange case of welterweight George ‘El Terrible’ Sosa, who had a bout scheduled with former World Welterweight champion Kermit Cintron at the Sands Bethlehem Events Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on a King’s Promotions card last week mysteriously cancelled, before he then resurfaced in Texas two weight classes up four days later to get beaten instead.
A close examination of Sosa’s 15-12-1 record shows all but one of his wins were over debuting, winless or one win fighters with losing records in the Dominican Republic. Sosa does have a win over 6-2 Chris Crosby in 2013 in Baltimore, Maryland, when Crosby retired with an injured right shoulder. Sosa has emerged as one of those fighters with a so-called winning record who is available to test you (or not) and get beaten for a paycheck on short notice. The strange thing is, when Sosa was associated with noted trainer and matchmaker Mike Melendez, some of Sosa’s performances spoke for a much higher degree of potential when he entered the ring well-prepared and well-trained. These performances include a controversial 10 round decision loss to Tommy LaManna, eight-round decision losses to Terrell Gausha, Anthony Young and Michael Anderson (a split decision), six round losses to Wilkins Santiago, Javontae Starks and Emmanuel Taylor, and a six-round draw with Tommy Rainone.
Sosa’s knockout losses speak for the lack of preparation superseded by the desire of a paycheck. Besides Harrison, Sosa has been knocked out or stopped by Sammy Vasquez, Ed Paredes, Ray Robinson, and Jaron Ennis. At age 31, his seven-year career will probably see more lows if Sosa continues to take bouts without sufficient training. Sosa remains one of those boxers with a winning record, with potential for higher achievement, who will always fall short of the mark. As such, his ‘terrible’ nickname is appropriate to his career activity.
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