Greatest 122 pounder of all time hands down. Arguably the greatest PR fighter of all time. Rest easy, champ.
Seriously though RIP. People- even our generation- think Barrera or Morales when people say 122lbs. And we're not casuals. Sanchez never let him get out of the traps and that was key in their fight. Otherwise who knows. Could have been a bridge too far but I think like Duran vs Hearns he ran into a guy literally designed to take him. Wait for it.........."Sal woulda beat him anyways"- yeah maybe but only after a struggle. Classic case of a guy defusing a bomb before giving it a chance to go off.
One thing about that fight with Sanchez was that Gomez disproved all this modern bullshit about "Oh fighters need to know how to fight in different ways"- you can actually hear the co-commentator say that Gomez was correct in trying to keep fighting "His own way"- you can do what guys like Klitschko or Khan or Lewis or Barrera did and try to tighten things up over a course or period of your career but not in the middle of a fight where you've already been badly hurt. Gomez just happened to be in with a guy who was ready for that.
He was completely gone 24 years ago when I met him in Compton. Much like Ditka, crazy he made it this far
One of the most brilliant fighters in the lower weight class who was both a skilled technician and a ferocious fighter. Will never forget the brutal stoppages he would produce as well as showing pure warrior heart as well. Undoubtedly Top 3 greatest fighters from Puerto Rico. Boxing will miss Bazooka. RIP Champ
The win over Zarate proved he was the biggest pucher of are times in the lighter weights From the two Wilfredo's I didn't expect Benitez to out-live Gomez
Before he fell in love with his power later in his career, early Gomez had some of the best offensive footwork in history. Also one of the best combination punchers in history.
Happens to a lot of guys. It makes me wonder if it's an aspect of laziness that sets in at some point. It can take a lot of effort to set up punches, you also risk taking more in return. Why bother when you have a tool that can end the fight or significantly alter it at any given moment.
Barrera and Wlad are prime "Recent" examples. The temptation is obvious ..."Just get it over with". I don't think it's Laziness per se, probably as much a "defensive" thing in many regards, like ripping off a plaster, the sooner you are done, the better. Eventually they walk onto something. Technically the Barrera loss to Jones, part One, was a DQ as his cornermen had gotten into the ring. Amir Khan went on to become a basket case but when he lost to that guy whose name I cannot remember, he was trying to impress the home crowd, and was acting even more Leapy Amateur than usual.
