Topeka boxer overcomes flash knockout to stay undefeated

TOPEKA (KSNT) - After being briefly knocked out in the first round of a fight, one Topeka boxer found a way to power through to victory.

John 'Iron Man' Cantrell said the secret to his success is the hard work he puts in behind the scenes. He credits his trainer, and hours spent at downtown Topeka's GreatLife Performance Center, for driving his will to win.

"We usually get here around 4 o'clock and train until about 5:30," Cantrell's boxing coach Damon Reed said. "Sometimes John's here a little before me, stays a little after me, and he's a workhorse."

Reed, a Topeka native, has been in the boxing scene for roughly 30 years, both as a player and as a coach. He's been training Cantrell for the past few years.

"Six days a week, two times a day, and all for one night," Cantrell said of his training. "For one experience for just a few minutes of glory."

Cantrell felt that glory less than a week ago when he squared off against Reyes Diaz.

Diaz knocked him out for a split second, what Cantrell referred to as a 'flash knockout.' However, the undefeated heavyweight champion said something told him to stand up and finish the fight.

The fight was an all-out brawl until the end, but Cantrell said winning the final minute of the final round was what gave him the upper hand.

"I caught him with some big uppercuts," Cantrell said. "And they stood him up, and I put him in a corner, and just kind of started letting the heavy leather fly."

With the win, Cantrell remains undefeated as a 9-0 in his run as a professional heavyweight champion. He said it's the resilient wins like this that stick with him most.

"You have no energy left, you're getting beat on, and you've got your world rocked with a big hard punch, you know, you've got to dig deep," Cantrell said. "You really find out who you are and what you're made of."

Cantrell may be slightly banged up from this most recent fight, but he's already looking ahead to the next big challenge. He said he always carries Topeka, Kansas with him everywhere he goes.

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