Wilfredo Gomez vs Ruben Olivares

Who wins?

 

Ruben was pretty schizo above 118... great one night, a weight-drained bum the next... on good nights, he was a real handful and maybe could take Wilfredo but I think overall you'd have to think Gomez would be favored

 

MM's are always based on the assumption that both fighters are at their bests. So I'm asking Olivares on his A-game.

I still favor Gomez, as I just feel he was a better fighter than Olivares.

Both were legendary punchers - Olivares probably had more one punch power, but Gomez was an even handed puncher who could do damage with the hook or the cross, whereas with Olivares it was primarily the big left hook.

Gomez was a good deal quicker and more mobile, and at his best was a harder target to find. On top of yes, being the bigger man of the two.

No doubt a war for the ages, but I see Gomez stopping him in 11.

 

Make it at 126 and I'd favor an "on" Ruben

He was getting the better of Alexis Arguello for a good 12 rounds... I don't think Gomez lasts 7 with featherweight Alexis

 

Gomez should have moved up to 126 before the Sanchez fight. He was struggling to make 122 for years, since the late 70s.

If he moves up earlier, who knows? Maybe he catches a more green Sanchez, and fares better.

But from what did transpire, yes, Olivares had more impressive displays at 126 - most notably in destroying Chacon in 2.

 

Would have been a great Mexico vs Puerto Rico war, but I trust that Gomez hands were faster and had better defense than Olivares. Gomez via TKO in the late rounds in an explosive for the ages classic bout.

Isn't it nice that a Mexican beer honored the 70's Mexican killer?

 

I haven’t watched many Olivares fights in a while but he was schooling the shit out of Arguello. When I first saw it and knowing the result I assumed it was going to be a demonstration by Arguello against an older smaller guy but Alexis made him look like Miguel Canto.

 

Olivares had great skills

 

It's been a couple of years since I've watched Olivares-Arguello, but I damn sure don't remember it being a schooling in favor of Olivares.

I remember it being a fight where Olivares had the edge early on, but gradually Arguello's firepower just broke him down, and then he landed that legendary hook that essentially ended the fight.

If anybody schooled Arguello around that time, it was Ernesto Marcel.

 

I think Olivares actually had his best rounds right before Arguello turned the fight with that hook ... he was taking it to Alexis

 

This is how I remember it too. Arguello was clearly in command early, then in the mid rounds Olivares turned it around with his craft and was winning until Arguello found the finisher. Prime Olivares would probably have made it, and I pick him against Gomez too

 

Without that victory over Gomez, Sanchez would have been viewed as merely a good champion. But because he beat Gomez (and avenged all his fellow countrymen that were defeated by Bazooka), he bec ame a legend. No one was happier than Jose Sulaiman that night.

 

Well, it is true that Gomez is Sanchez's defining win. Gomez was considered by many the P4P #1 at the time.

However, consider that Sanchez beat Lil Red Lopez twice, Laporte, Ruben Castillo, and Nelson all over the span of less than two years.

Pretty impressive. He likely makes the HOF without Gomez, but that win certainly catapulted him into legendary status. Especially among Mexicans, since Gomez had destroyed the previous Mexican icon in Zarate

 

The MANNER in Which Sanchez Beat an Undefeated Gomez is What DEFINES Him, More than Anything Else...

Sanchez-Gomez Wasn't Just a "Big" Fight, it was a "Super Fight"...Most of Which Aren't THAT 1-Sided...REED was Rooting for Gomez Too...





REED

 

Likely? He was a surefire hof even without the gomez win imo

 

It was pretty much Arguello "thing" to struggle and land a big punch that change the fight out of nowhere

 

That's a big misconception.

Arguello was dominant over most of his peak.

 

Arguello was dominant against weaker opponents but I agree with JoM that against the best Arguello usually went neck-and-neck, often pulling out late. Arguello was hittable at close, which in part made his bouts so entertaining.

Olivares did better than his other opponents (besides Pryor) as he seemed to be winning it, but it is a good point that in Arguello's fights that doesn't necessarily mean everything

 

Yeah, Bobby Chacon, Boza Edwards, and Alfredo Escalera sure were "weaker opponents."

God you guys say dumb shit.

Fightbeat has become a bunch of fuckin casuals almost.

Way more knowledge on Eastside nowadays, which is why I spend more time there and less here.

 

Mancini, Watt, Ramirez, Castillo...

heck, even the Chacon bout was all even when Arguello ended it. Even though it was in the mid rounds, it emphasizes more our point than yours.

I don't see how you get so defensive here. Winning by KO after close fights does not mean the fighter is bad, and nobody ever said so. Carlos Monzon did the same against his best opponents

 

Would be a good thing for this forum if you simply spent all of your time over there. Youve turned into a hypersensitive hysterical teenybopper

 

I saw you edited your post while I was responding

We are not even that far apart here. You said Arguello was dominant against most (not all) his opponents, I said against the very best of them he usually (not always) went neck-and-neck.

If this is too big a difference which proves I am a know-nothing casual fan, I take it

 

You can also add the gannigan fight to that list

And Arguello dominating Chacon !!!! I dont think he ever saw that fight

 

Trust me, you might get your wish. This place has become a shithole. I'm slowing phasing myself out.

 

Watt, Castillo, Mancini? All of them got beat up... none of those were close fights

Ganigan? Yeah, he scored a knockdown but then he basically got picked apart and folded in half

Ramirez is the only actually close fight of that bunch

Chacon had a good start but his corner pulled him out because it was beginning to get ugly ... Boza just flat out got beat up...

 

Arguello was a slow starter generally and methodical... so very good opponents were usually competitive early and gradually became non-competitive...

These takes make it seem more like Arguello typically went life and death and had to find some magic punch to turn the tide late in the fight

The Olivares fight is the only one that matches the description, however

 

TL;DR : Arguello wasn’t much like Saad, he was a lot like Chavez

 

As for Sanchez, absolutely a HOF even without Gomez IMO but that’s his most iconic win because of Gomez’s status in the sport and the Mexico/PR rivalry

 

At least I never tried to imply that.

Arguello's victories were not usually threatened but even so the bouts were often competitive and close. For example I don't think De La Hoya dominated Vargas either, it was a close, hard-fought battle. Still that doesn't mean Oscar survived with a miracle shot nor that the victory had been truly threatened, even though he secured the win late.

I think we all can agree that Arguello was a dominant champion, even if all his bouts weren't dominant performances