Alfonso Gomez: Why I like him.

By Ted Sares

Alfonso Gomez, 16-3 -2 with 7 ko's, lives in Tustin, California and was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. He is articulate, intelligent and highly personable...all traits that make this 26 year old middleweight one of the more popular fighters today. His amateur record was an impressive 80-10. Like so many young fighters, he originally started boxing as self-defense from the street toughs. He went professional in 2001

Gomez fought Ishe Smith in just his second fight and Jesse Feliciano in his 4rth. In his 6th, he fought Dumont Welliver, 12-1-1 coming in, then Michael Santos, 6-0, Feliciano again (who was 8-1 at the time), and Juan Carlos Amezcua, 9-0. Finally, he got somewhat of a breather when he fought Antonio Garcia who was 14-16. After a few more fights, he ended Peter Manfredo Jr's unbeaten record of 21-0. He later beat tough Jesse Brinkley, 25-2.

On May 4, he fought long time rival Jesse Feliciano for the third time in a brutal eight round battle. Despite a strong showing, the fight was declared a draw. He then fought Carson Jones, 12-2, on August 25 and put on a clinic with his skills before knocking out Jones in the 8th canter. More recently, he won a Contenders bout in the UK with a one-sided win over mismatched Martin Conception. In short, he has split two with Peter Manfredo Jr and three (one was a draw) with Jesse Feliciano. The same Jesse who recently beat Delvin Rodriguez in a great come-from-behind thriller at Foxwoods.

When I watch him fight, I am reminded of a guy who went to battle in the 50s and 60s and that’s probably why I like him so much. He has an “old school” willingness to fight other tough fighters multiple times and I highly respect that sort of thing. There is no padding in Alfonso Gomez’s record.

Gomez is an orthodox fighter who meshes Mexican macho with American technique. While the result has not yet become a killer cocktail like that of Barrera or Marquez, the potential is definitely there. Still, his all-action style is very crowd pleasing. His head feints, leg movement, combos and other moves are old school. Though he tends to take too many shots, his chin is solid. He also has a tendency to fight at the level of his opposition. Of course, when the opposition is as good as his record reflects, that may not be a bad thing.

If I have any real criticism, it's that he sometimes throws one shot at a time and admires his work, but when he puts punches together in combos and uses his vaunted left hook, he is extremely effective. He does seem to tire a bit in the mid-rounds which sometimes allow his opponents back into the fight. He needs to become a more decisive closer and with Sugar Ray Leonard around, that should quickly become part of his tool box. All in all, his negatives lend themselves to quick correction and when resolved, he will become even more formidable.

When he called out Peter Manfredo in the first contender series, viewers were pleasantly surprised at his hubris. But when he beat him, viewers were shocked. What was lost in this was Alfonso's machismo. He could have selected someone less imposing as Peter, but he would have none of that. Only the toughest would suit him. And that's when I became an Alfonso Gomez fan.

“I’m not worried about the competition…It’s just a matter of who wants it most, and I want it more than anything in the world.” Alfonso Gomez