Lightweight Kevin Montano suffered the first loss of his career on November 16, but the real surprise came after the fight: a phone call from light heavyweight star David Benavidez, offering encouragement and advice.
Montano, 27, dropped a majority decision to Ebert Diaz in a four-round lightweight bout at the Fox Theatre in Redwood City, California. Judges Rey Danseco and former titleholder-turned-judge Melissa McMorrow scored it 39-37 for Diaz, while Kermit Bayless had it even at 38-38. The defeat dropped Montano, now living in Sacramento, to 6-1 (3 KOs). Diaz, also 27, from Richmond, California, improved to 2-2-1 (1 KO) under trainer Filemon Contreras.
“I see it as a blessing in disguise,” Montano said.
Montano shared a video after the fight apologizing to supporters. This week Montano shared another clip to his 204,000 followers on social media, this time of Benavidez’s call. He made an additional post to his smaller personal account.
“I just wanted to call you and give you some words of encouragement,” Benavidez said in the clip. “If this is what you really want to do, you just have to keep working hard and maintain focus. At the end of the day, this is probably the hardest sport in the world.
“Me, personally, I wanted to quit a long time ago. It’s that drive in me that didn’t allow me to quit. You just have to see your vision through 100 percent and work harder than everybody.”
The call from Benavidez, who headlines a February 1 pay-per-view against David Morrell, might just have activated Montano’s own drive as he processed his first professional setback.
“One day, I will get that rematch,” Montano said.
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