Wilfredo Gomez vs Lupe Pintor and Thomas Hearns vs Wilfred Benitez: A Come Back and a Decline
Posted: 03 Dec 2022, 13:29
Forty years ago, at the Louisiana Superdome, two big fights were made by the American boxing promoter extraordinare Don King.
Friday, December 3, 1982 was forgotten by a lot of people. But it was one of the best boxing cards of the decade.
In the first fight of the evening, the great Wilfredo "Bazooka" Gomez of Puerto Rico defended his WBC World Super Bantamweight title for the last time against WBC World Bantamweight Champion Lupe Pintor of Mexico.
The fight was an extraordinary war of attrition. It was a non-stop action-packed fight that many people don't mention it. It was a back and forth fight. Some rounds were so brutal that I couldn't believe that two men could withstand so much punishment for 14 rounds. At one moment of the fight, Gomez had to be carried to his own corner by one of his handlers after the sound of the bell. He was on queer street. How did he come back from that? I don't know. Maybe it was pride, heart and determination. He was greatly wounded and criticized a year before on his challenge to the great Salvador Sanchez of Mexico when Sanchez totally thrashed him in 8 rounds, and Puerto Rico cried for Bazooka.
But in the 14th round, he regrouped, and gave a brutal left hook to Pintor's belly. Pintor was a fine champion on his own right. But he wilted and the referee Arthur Mercante counted to 10. It was the last defense of Bazooka at 122lbs. His 17th consecutive title defense won by knockout. A record that was held until WBA World Middleweight Champion, Gennady "GGG" Golovkin broke the record with 18 KO straight title defenses.
It was supposed to be, well at least in Puerto Rico, The Night of the Wlfredos. One Wilfredo won the first fight of the evening. Now, the Puerto Rican fans were waiting for the great Wilfred Benitez to do the same in the main Event of the evening. The great and feared Thomas "The Hitman" Hearns, of Detroit, MI is the challenger for Benitez' WBC World Super Welterweight title.
Both greats had one loss. And both had that loss against one opponent in common: the great Sugar Ray Leonard, who was also there as an HBO commentator with Barry Tompkins and Larry Merchant.
It was not a fight that was expected as a war. It was much more of a scientific approach of boxing by both fighters. Hearns used that long left jab beautifully. To a of a lot people at hand, he was considered a puncher that came for the kill at every fight. Not this time. To our surprise, Hearns bought his time, used that left jab perfectly and frustrated the champion Benitez which got very confused in how to penetrate Hearns' jab. Hearns outboxed the boxer. In round 5, he decked Benitez on the canvas with a perfectly timed right hand. Hearns went down also in round ten, in which he fall being off balanced, not because Benitez gave him a shot. But the referee gave Hearns an 8-count nevertheless. At the end of the scientific boxing affair, Hearns took the title from Benitez by decision in 15 rounds.
The Hitman, at 24, was back and is champion again. For Benitez? Well, at age 24 never again fought for a world title. Incredibly, he had one of the most strange declines ever to happen to a fighter. He never again had a major win. How this young triple crown champion, who had the mastery against the great Roberto Duran 11 months earlier, now loses the crown, but never made a comeback? After this fight, Benitez was incredibly through as a world class fighter.
And why The Hitman could not knocked out Benitez? Was it that Benitez was too slick and slippery? It was later found out that he broke his right hand and he had to fight using the left jab for the rest of the night.
It was the comeback for two greats that somewhat redeemed themselves after losing the Super fights that matter: Gomez for Sanchez, and Hearns for Leonard. For Gomez, he couldn't get a rematch with Sanchez due to Sanchez's death in a car accident in Mexico 4 months earlier. For Hearns, it put him again in position to ask Leonard for a rematch or to have other great multi million dollar payday with the great World Middleweight Champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler, a showdown with WBA World Welterweight Champion Donald Curry or a world crown unification bout with WBA World Jr Middleweight Champion Davey Moore. A rematch with Leonard was unlikely. Leonard retired that same month because of complications of a detached retina in his left eye.
Friday, December 3, 1982 was forgotten by a lot of people. But it was one of the best boxing cards of the decade.
In the first fight of the evening, the great Wilfredo "Bazooka" Gomez of Puerto Rico defended his WBC World Super Bantamweight title for the last time against WBC World Bantamweight Champion Lupe Pintor of Mexico.
The fight was an extraordinary war of attrition. It was a non-stop action-packed fight that many people don't mention it. It was a back and forth fight. Some rounds were so brutal that I couldn't believe that two men could withstand so much punishment for 14 rounds. At one moment of the fight, Gomez had to be carried to his own corner by one of his handlers after the sound of the bell. He was on queer street. How did he come back from that? I don't know. Maybe it was pride, heart and determination. He was greatly wounded and criticized a year before on his challenge to the great Salvador Sanchez of Mexico when Sanchez totally thrashed him in 8 rounds, and Puerto Rico cried for Bazooka.
But in the 14th round, he regrouped, and gave a brutal left hook to Pintor's belly. Pintor was a fine champion on his own right. But he wilted and the referee Arthur Mercante counted to 10. It was the last defense of Bazooka at 122lbs. His 17th consecutive title defense won by knockout. A record that was held until WBA World Middleweight Champion, Gennady "GGG" Golovkin broke the record with 18 KO straight title defenses.
It was supposed to be, well at least in Puerto Rico, The Night of the Wlfredos. One Wilfredo won the first fight of the evening. Now, the Puerto Rican fans were waiting for the great Wilfred Benitez to do the same in the main Event of the evening. The great and feared Thomas "The Hitman" Hearns, of Detroit, MI is the challenger for Benitez' WBC World Super Welterweight title.
Both greats had one loss. And both had that loss against one opponent in common: the great Sugar Ray Leonard, who was also there as an HBO commentator with Barry Tompkins and Larry Merchant.
It was not a fight that was expected as a war. It was much more of a scientific approach of boxing by both fighters. Hearns used that long left jab beautifully. To a of a lot people at hand, he was considered a puncher that came for the kill at every fight. Not this time. To our surprise, Hearns bought his time, used that left jab perfectly and frustrated the champion Benitez which got very confused in how to penetrate Hearns' jab. Hearns outboxed the boxer. In round 5, he decked Benitez on the canvas with a perfectly timed right hand. Hearns went down also in round ten, in which he fall being off balanced, not because Benitez gave him a shot. But the referee gave Hearns an 8-count nevertheless. At the end of the scientific boxing affair, Hearns took the title from Benitez by decision in 15 rounds.
The Hitman, at 24, was back and is champion again. For Benitez? Well, at age 24 never again fought for a world title. Incredibly, he had one of the most strange declines ever to happen to a fighter. He never again had a major win. How this young triple crown champion, who had the mastery against the great Roberto Duran 11 months earlier, now loses the crown, but never made a comeback? After this fight, Benitez was incredibly through as a world class fighter.
And why The Hitman could not knocked out Benitez? Was it that Benitez was too slick and slippery? It was later found out that he broke his right hand and he had to fight using the left jab for the rest of the night.
It was the comeback for two greats that somewhat redeemed themselves after losing the Super fights that matter: Gomez for Sanchez, and Hearns for Leonard. For Gomez, he couldn't get a rematch with Sanchez due to Sanchez's death in a car accident in Mexico 4 months earlier. For Hearns, it put him again in position to ask Leonard for a rematch or to have other great multi million dollar payday with the great World Middleweight Champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler, a showdown with WBA World Welterweight Champion Donald Curry or a world crown unification bout with WBA World Jr Middleweight Champion Davey Moore. A rematch with Leonard was unlikely. Leonard retired that same month because of complications of a detached retina in his left eye.