Women’s strawweight Brook Sibrian felt the strain and depression after back-to-back career losses, now she returns on a card focused on mental health.
Sibrian will fight on Thursday in a six-round bout against Angeles Rubi Gutierrez Salinas at the Avalon in Hollywood, California. The bout will air on DAZN.
Sibrian, a 32-year-old who entered the sport late, had a lot of early success. She won two national amateur tournaments and started her professional career strong, then it happened. She suffered a loss in November against Tania Garcia Hernandez, who came into the bout with a record of 9-10-2. Two months later, she would lose to Gloria Munguilla in January.
Sibrian’s record now sits at 6-2 (3 KOs). She returned in April to get a win in Mexico.
“It’s funny, because after the first loss, I thought that I was in control of my feelings, I was saying all the right things to people, in a way convincing myself that I was good and it wasn’t affecting me,” Sibrian said. “We go into the second fight, and then boom, and that's when it hit me. I hadn’t healed. I hadn’t done enough. I hadn’t truly implemented the changes I needed to make, and I wasn’t mentally there. And I remember, I got out of the ring and I walked back with Juan, my cutman, and at that moment, that's when it hit me - I asked myself and him, ‘What's happening to me?’
“I went through a couple of days where I was just in my feelings, going through it,” Sibrian said. “I always tell the kids at the gym, the amateur team, to feel your feelings, don’t disregard what you’re going through, let it out, cry it out, and then move on, get back to work. So, I did exactly that. Oh, and I journaled a lot.”
Sibrian admits it was tough after the loss of Munguilla as she questioned her place in the sport. Now, she returns on a card centered around mental health as she looks to avenge previous losses and regain momentum in her career after a two-fight losing streak. She faces Salinas, 5-1-1, who has a similar record to Munguilla when they fought. Sibrian reflected on her decision to keep going rather than slowing down or calling it quits.
"I've always told myself, you’ll stop on your terms and not when you get a decision that you don't like,” Sibrian said. “This is an opportunity to show myself and those watching to walk the walk, everything I preach, say what you’re going to do, and then do what you’ll say. When things get tough, you're either going to fold or you're going to keep going.”
When she faces the 19-year-old from Saltillo, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico, Sibrian had an extension of the previous fight camp, while she noted a slight difference.
“I believe in my training and I am very focused,” Sibrian said. “Though I won’t share the details of how we trained, I believe we have found things that work best for me and I am ready to advance my career.”