Did Wilfredo Gomez underestimated Salvador Sanchez???

elmersalsa · Post by **elmersalsa** » 23 Jan 2007, 18:31

I hear rumors by many, specially by Puerto Rican boxing fans, that Gomez understimated Sanchez in their so called "Battle of the Little Giants" of August 21, 1981.

By watching the tape, they might be right. He kind of looked that he was not at his best, but gave a tremendous effort. Was Gomez in tip top shape or not???

Or just simply said: "The bigger and great fighter ALMOST ALWAYS beats the smaller and great fighter"

Borinken25 · Post by **Borinken25** » 23 Jan 2007, 18:44

Gomez was partying too much during those days. I still clearly remember reading in the Puerto Rico newspaper that they saw Gomez in this party and the other. I think his fame went to his head and he thought that he was invincible and he got a reality check by a tremendous fighter like Sanchez. I don’t want to take away anything from Sanchez victory because he totally destroyed Gomez, but the reality is Gomez was partying way too much. I don’t think that Gomez lost his power in the higher weight classes, what I do think is that his parting days were getting the best of him.

elmersalsa · Post by **elmersalsa** » 30 Jan 2007, 19:14

Borinken25 wrote:Gomez was partying too much during those days. I still clearly remember reading in the Puerto Rico newspaper that they saw Gomez in this party and the other. I think his fame went to his head and he thought that he was invincible and he got a reality check by a tremendous fighter like Sanchez. I don’t want to take away anything from Sanchez victory because he totally destroyed Gomez, but the reality is Gomez was partying way too much. I don’t think that Gomez lost his power in the higher weight classes, what I do think is that his parting days were getting the best of him.

I heard rumors that he was dating Ms Puerto Rico or a beauty contestant or some actress...Something like that. Just like Delilah weakened Samson, migh tbe case for Gomez. I think that Gomez uderestimated Sanchez in a way.

kick asner · Post by **kick asner** » 30 Jan 2007, 19:43

If he did than he woefully miscalculated.

Ambling Alp · Post by **Ambling Alp** » 30 Jan 2007, 23:34

It's hard to believe that he was that dumb. He had to to know that Sanchez was a serious threat. It's pretty simple; As good as Gomez was, Sanchez was better.

iceman21287 · Post by **iceman21287** » 31 Jan 2007, 06:20

Salvador Sanchez was just better than Bazooka Gomez at that point in their careers. Sanchez, though he had already been through some wars, was just hitting his prime. Gomez, though he was still undefeated, wasn't nearly the fighter he was in the late 1970s. Though Gomez had a couple of great fights after Sanchez (the Lupe Pintor fight comes to mind), he never again reminded me of that great fighter who so thoroughly dominated Carlos Zarate.

That being said, I would take the Gomez that fought Zarate over Sanchez any day of the week.

barry · Post by **barry** » 31 Jan 2007, 06:44

It was pretty well documented that Gomez was a playboy who partied a lot more than he trained at that point and when he went in against Sanchez, he certainly was not at his best. Anyone who has watched all of Gomez's fights can easily see that the Gomez who fought Sanchez was far from what he could do, which Sanchez of course had something to do with that, but Gomez was a hell of a lot better than he was that night. Had Gomez fought Sanchez three years earlier it would would have been a different fight. Sanchez was a great fighter and he very well may have beat Gomez three years earlier as well, but it would not have been the blowout that it was in 1980 as Gomez was partying all the way up to the bout!

Ambling Alp · Post by **Ambling Alp** » 31 Jan 2007, 12:31

Decagon wrote:
Ambling Alp wrote:It's hard to believe that he was that dumb. He had to to know that Sanchez was a serious threat. It's pretty simple; As good as Gomez was, Sanchez was better.
While I rank Sanchez well above Gomez, I'm not convinced of that.

If you aren't convinced that Sanchez was better, than why do you rank Sanchez well above Gomez?

walshb · Post by **walshb** » 31 Jan 2007, 13:32

Alp, I think Dec means he is not convinced that GomeZ was NOT 'that dumb'. He believes Sanchez is better than Gomez.

Anyway any version of Gomez loses to Sal, because Sal was just too good in every department

vagabundo55 · Post by **vagabundo55** » 01 Feb 2007, 04:20

walshb wrote:Alp, I think Dec means he is not convinced that GomeZ was NOT 'that dumb'. He believes Sanchez is better than Gomez.

Anyway any version of Gomez loses to Sal, because Sal was just too good in every department

I agree with this. Gomez was a great fighter, but as previously mentioned, a good featherweight will almost always beat a good super bantamweight. I still think Sanchez would have beat a natural featherweight version of Gomez, but it would have probably been more competitive.. but then styles make fights and Sanchez had the style to always trouble a fighter like Gomez.

elmersalsa · Post by **elmersalsa** » 02 Feb 2007, 13:21

I think also could be that the THEORY of a great and bigger fighter, 90% of the time, beats a great and smaller foe, even though it was just a 4 pounds difference.

The Gomez of the late 70s and pre-1981 was awesome...Maybe he lost to the better man.

Both of them complete fighters, though. I remember when that fight was about to happened, that I thought that Gomez was going to have another Mexican victim. He was well known in Latin American boxing world as "The Mexican Killer". I think that I expected another massacre, but it was Salvador that did all the damage. He got me with my mouth open, because I NEVER THOUGHT, SOMEONE AS AWESOME AND INVINCIBLE AS Bazooka Gomez could lose in a blow out, and it that fashion...It was a stunning performance by Salvador Sanchez

One anecdote of this fight: Did Gomez went to Mexico and insulted Sanchez in a press conference calling him by all kinds of names???

BoxBuzz · Post by **BoxBuzz** » 02 Feb 2007, 14:21

Is any portion of this fight on youtube?

vagabundo55 · Post by **vagabundo55** » 02 Feb 2007, 16:22

elmersalsa wrote:I think also could be that the THEORY of a great and bigger fighter, 90% of the time, beats a great and smaller foe, even though it was just a 4 pounds difference.

The Gomez of the late 70s and pre-1981 was awesome...Maybe he lost to the better man.

Both of them complete fighters, though. I remember when that fight was about to happened, that I thought that Gomez was going to have another Mexican victim. He was well known in Latin American boxing world as "The Mexican Killer". I think that I expected another massacre, but it was Salvador that did all the damage. He got me with my mouth open, because I NEVER THOUGHT, SOMEONE AS AWESOME AND INVINCIBLE AS Bazooka Gomez could lose in a blow out, and it that fashion...It was a stunning performance by Salvador Sanchez

One anecdote of this fight: Did Gomez went to Mexico and insulted Sanchez in a press conference calling him by all kinds of names???

Yeah, many people thought Sanchez would be just another name on Gomez' KO resume. But Sanchez showed the world that night his brilliant counter punching skills. Although he utterly demolished Danny Lopez, many expected the undefeated favorite Gomez to stop him. Even Gomez believed this because he did indeed talk a lot of trash before the fight. Sanchez would reply things like, "He talks a lot, but we'll see in the ring." Sanchez always remained humble, even as he prepared to fight Gomez, he mentioned how beautiful Puerto Rico was, and how great the people were. I have a lot of respect for Gomez though, after Sanchez passed away in a tragedy which shook the boxing world, he would go to Sanchez grave yearly to a festival in his honor, many times being the guest of honor. Gomez always felt he could beat Sanchez, and he was devastated when his rival passed away. Gomez realized he'd never be able to show the world he could beat Sanchez. In my honest opinion, he wouldn't have been able to beat Sanchez, but it is respectable that he'd want a rematch to prove he was great, many fighters don't like to take rematches against a fighter that gave them a beating. Gomez is in my opinion possibly the best fighter to come out of Puerto Rico. Sanchez is in my opinion the best fighter to come out of Mexico. No shame in losing to the best fighters in the world.

elmersalsa · Post by **elmersalsa** » 03 Feb 2007, 20:48

This fight was billed as "The Battle of the Little Giants"...And it fit the bill perfectly...There would never be another night like that one were the whole crowd was almost latin and hispanic.

Tito vs De La Hoya was almost as close, but the fight did not passed the expectation like that unforgettable night of Friday, August 21st, 1981.

Rocky Balboa · Post by **Rocky Balboa** » 04 Feb 2007, 14:25

Just watched the fight on youtube. Great fight or what? Made for compelling viewing. Obviously, there is no preaise high enough for Salvador; he was always able to remain calm under pressure, remain focused etc.

However, Wilfredo Gomez must be given a lof of credit. For he was pressing the action non-stop, even when one eye was virtually shut and puffed up, & the other was closing fast.

Remarkable performance by Sanches though. He showed great courage to get up from the knock-down in the 1st. A lot of fighter's may have been oveerwhelemed, but not Salvador.

Both were taking hard shots, but Sanches seemed to have more variety in his work, and his punches did more damage than Gomez' did.

I was impressed by Wilfredo's courage though. The right hand which virtually left Gomez helpless was a beautiful shot. Nice body-shots by Salvador just before that, too.

Brilliant fight. They certainly "don't make them like that anymore".

kick asner · Post by **kick asner** » 04 Feb 2007, 18:45

Rocky Balboa wrote:Just watched the fight on youtube. Great fight or what? Made for compelling viewing. Obviously, there is no preaise high enough for Salvador; he was always able to remain calm under pressure, remain focused etc.

However, Wilfredo Gomez must be given a lof of credit. For he was pressing the action non-stop, even when one eye was virtually shut and puffed up, & the other was closing fast.

Remarkable performance by Sanches though. He showed great courage to get up from the knock-down in the 1st. A lot of fighter's may have been oveerwhelemed, but not Salvador.

Both were taking hard shots, but Sanches seemed to have more variety in his work, and his punches did more damage than Gomez' did.

I was impressed by Wilfredo's courage though. The right hand which virtually left Gomez helpless was a beautiful shot. Nice body-shots by Salvador just before that, too.

Brilliant fight. They certainly "don't make them like that anymore".

Gomez was the one knocked down in the first.

Rocky Balboa · Post by **Rocky Balboa** » 05 Feb 2007, 13:58

kick asner wrote:
Rocky Balboa wrote:Just watched the fight on youtube. Great fight or what? Made for compelling viewing. Obviously, there is no preaise high enough for Salvador; he was always able to remain calm under pressure, remain focused etc.

However, Wilfredo Gomez must be given a lof of credit. For he was pressing the action non-stop, even when one eye was virtually shut and puffed up, & the other was closing fast.

Remarkable performance by Sanches though. He showed great courage to get up from the knock-down in the 1st. A lot of fighter's may have been oveerwhelemed, but not Salvador.

Both were taking hard shots, but Sanches seemed to have more variety in his work, and his punches did more damage than Gomez' did.

I was impressed by Wilfredo's courage though. The right hand which virtually left Gomez helpless was a beautiful shot. Nice body-shots by Salvador just before that, too.

Brilliant fight. They certainly "don't make them like that anymore".

Gomez was the one knocked down in the first.

Well-spotted mate. By the time I realised the typing error, it was too late to edit my post. Damn it!

bollox · Post by **bollox** » 05 Feb 2007, 14:14

Gomez was too macho for his own good. Great fight this one was

elmersalsa · Post by **elmersalsa** » 06 Feb 2007, 14:32

It was the ONLY MEXICAN that Gomez could not beat. After the fight, Gomez did not look the same. He lost something in there. But what a fighter he was. One of the best fighters that I have ever seen, just the same with Salvador.
Gomez shatttered Duran's record with most consecutive title defenses won by KO, as well with most title fights in a row won by KO

Most Title defenses in a row by KO:
Wilfredo Gomez Super Bantamweight.........17
Roberto Duran Lightweight...........10

Most consecutive title wins by KO:
Wilfredo Gomez Super Bantamweight.........14
Roberto Duran Lightweight ........................11