Wilfredo Gomez

Just saw this video on Wilfredo Gomez. Lots of great footage of his earlier fights and throughout the years. My favorite fighter has always been Felix Trinidad... but I must admit Wilfredo Gomez was better in many ways. When asked to rank the greatest Puerto Rican boxers, most of us Puerto Ricans agree on the top five or six. But not necessarily the order. I believe Gomez's record of consecutive title defenses by knockout still stands to this day.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP-WU8ZiUyg


Sadly, Wilfredo has lacked adequate care in his later years... and I can only hope he's currently being looked after properly.

Thank you Titofan for sharing that documentary.

The documentary is dramatic highlighting the punches and significant moments which make it an exciting watch.

Wilfredo Gomez was an all-action fighter with great fundamental boxing skills. He came forward behind a strong jab, vicious left hook and pulverising right hand. Gomez had exceptional stamina, endurance, chin and broke down his opponents at 122lb. He made 17 defences and all by stoppage. Nobody could beat him at the weight.

When Wilfredo first fought for the title against Dong he got over excited and knocked down by a brutal left hook. To come back from that and knocking out the champion showed great composure and inner belief.

Gomez then had his first legacy fight brutally stopping Carlos Zarate who was one of the greatest Bantamweight champions of all time with an undefeated 52-0 record in 1978.

I loved Gomez footwork against Eddie Ndukwu and his goading of his rival who had previously stopped him in the amateurs Derrik Holmes was barbaric. What was Holmes’s corner and referee thinking?

Wilfredo Gomez went up to featherweight and got brutally beaten by Salvador Sanchez who was a great fighter in his own right. Gomez went down back to his best weight and had an absolute war with Lupe Pinter. Another great fighter of his time.

The documentary did not show his loss to Asumah Nelson and moving up again to featherweight but by then his best days were behind him.

You have mentioned Wilfredo Gomez before but because he was just before my time, and I had read about him losing to other great boxers I did not make time to watch him. I have watched this documentary twice it was that good. My favourite PR boxers are Macho Man, Tito Trinidad and Cotto.

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

My favorite fighter has always been Felix Trinidad...

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off topic. do you think we missed seeing tito at his best against the best?

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Originally Posted by TIC

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

My favorite fighter has always been Felix Trinidad...

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off topic. do you think we missed seeing tito at his best against the best?

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Not sure what you mean.

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Originally Posted by TIC

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

My favorite fighter has always been Felix Trinidad...

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off topic. do you think we missed seeing tito at his best against the best?

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Tito proved he was the best at welterweight even if it did take Oscar to initiate the the unification fights. Tito did not face Quartey but can't think of any other real threats at the weight.

Think Tito proved he was the best at light middleweight too.

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Originally Posted by Master

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Originally Posted by TIC

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

My favorite fighter has always been Felix Trinidad...

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off topic. do you think we missed seeing tito at his best against the best?

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Tito proved he was the best at welterweight even if it did take Oscar to initiate the the unification fights. Tito did not face Quartey but can't think of any other real threats at the weight.

Think Tito proved he was the best at light middleweight too.

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I believe Trinidad was the longest reigning welterweight champion in history, with the second most title defenses at that weight.

Yes... a fight against Quartey would've been a hell of a fight, as Ike was one of the greats at that time also.

He then moved up to light middleweight like you said, @Master ...at which he had what is still my favorite fight of all time... his TKO over Fernando Vargas.

Then unlike Oscar, who made an ill-fated attempt at 160 only to get knocked out by a BHop liver shot... Trinidad knocked out highly regarded WBA champion William Joppy, before losing to BHop by 12th round TKO himself.

Did not realise that Tito secured that many defences at Welterweight but that is another good sign that he took on the best fighters at the weight. Loved Tito beating undefeated contenders like Oba Carr and Campus who caused Trinidad a lot of problems.

Tito v Jose Luis Lopez would have been a belter!!

To be fair to Oscar he started at the lower weights so going up past Welterweight was harder for him. Vargas was a favourite fighter of mine and both Tito and Oscar beat him in brilliant contests.

To be fair to Trinidad going past light middle was harder for him and he got beat by Winky as well as B Hop and Roy Jones.

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Originally Posted by Master

Did not realise that Tito secured that many defences at Welterweight but that is another good sign that he took on the best fighters at the weight. Loved Tito beating undefeated contenders like Oba Carr and Campus who caused Trinidad a lot of problems.

Tito v Jose Luis Lopez would have been a belter!!

To be fair to Oscar he started at the lower weights so going up past Welterweight was harder for him. Vargas was a favourite fighter of mine and both Tito and Oscar beat him in brilliant contests.

To be fair to Trinidad going past light middle was harder for him and he got beat by Winky as well as B Hop and Roy Jones.

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Good point about Oscar. IMO, he had no business going up to middle, and I don't even count the fight against Felix Sturm.

Now that you mention Vargas against both Trinidad and Oscar...

One thing you also may not realize is a lot of common opponents for both Tito and Oscar first faced Tito. They lost by KO, and THEN they faced Oscar.

At least in Fernando's case, you might say Oscar beat a lesser, damaged version of the fighter Tito faced first.

The list includes:

Mayorga - lost to Tito by TKO (2004), then to Oscar by TKO (2006)

Campas - undefeated when he lost to Tito by TKO (1994), had 5 losses when he lost by TKO to Oscar (2003)

Carr - undefeated when he lost to Tito by TKO (1994), had 2 losses when he lost by TKO to Oscar (1999)

Camacho - past his prime, but lost to Tito by wide UD (1994), even further past his prime when he lost by UD to Oscar (1997)

Then there's Fernando himself. Lost by TKO to Tito (2000), then by TKO again to Oscar (2002)


Besides Campas and Carr, who were undefeated when going up against Trinidad, the other undefeated fighters Tito handed their first defeat included:

Oscar and Fernando themselves, and David Reid.

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

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Originally Posted by TIC

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

My favorite fighter has always been Felix Trinidad...

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off topic. do you think we missed seeing tito at his best against the best?

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Not sure what you mean.

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i mean tito's ninety four campaign was so good, followed by four years of rubbish. this was his peak in my opinion & when he should have been matched against the best welters. his career could have been even better if don king hadn't have stalled it

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Originally Posted by TIC

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

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Originally Posted by TIC

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

My favorite fighter has always been Felix Trinidad...

---

off topic. do you think we missed seeing tito at his best against the best?

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Not sure what you mean.

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i mean tito's ninety four campaign was so good, followed by four years of rubbish. this was his peak in my opinion & when he should have been matched against the best welters. his career could have been even better if don king hadn't have stalled it

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I sort of see your point in that 1994 was the year of Camacho, Campas, and Carr.

But then I went through each year of The Ring Magazine's annual ratings from 1994 to 1999, and didn't see any names in the top ten that would've given Trinidad much trouble.

The three names I see that people talk about wishing had been matched against Trinidad are: Quartey, Mosley, and Forrest.

Yeah... it's too bad Trinidad didn't face any of those three. They would've been good fights.

However, you look at his record from the time he won that first championship, and you come away with a pretty good list of names.

But sure... his already super-impressive resume would've looked even better had he faced and beaten any of those three names.

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

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Originally Posted by TIC

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

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Originally Posted by TIC

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

My favorite fighter has always been Felix Trinidad...

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off topic. do you think we missed seeing tito at his best against the best?

---

Not sure what you mean.

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i mean tito's ninety four campaign was so good, followed by four years of rubbish. this was his peak in my opinion & when he should have been matched against the best welters. his career could have been even better if don king hadn't have stalled it

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I sort of see your point in that 1994 was the year of Camacho, Campas, and Carr.

But then I went through each year of The Ring Magazine's annual ratings from 1994 to 1999, and didn't see any names in the top ten that would've given Trinidad much trouble.

The three names I see that people talk about wishing had been matched against Trinidad are: Quartey, Mosley, and Forrest.

Yeah... it's too bad Trinidad didn't face any of those three. They would've been good fights.

However, you look at his record from the time he won that first championship, and you come away with a pretty good list of names.

But sure... his already super-impressive resume would've looked even better had he faced and beaten any of those three names.

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In my opinion, I don't think that Forrest, Quartey or Mosley were interested in fighting Trinidad. If they were, it wouldn't have gone well for them.

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Originally Posted by greynotsoold

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

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Originally Posted by TIC

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

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Originally Posted by TIC

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

My favorite fighter has always been Felix Trinidad...

---

off topic. do you think we missed seeing tito at his best against the best?

---

Not sure what you mean.

---

i mean tito's ninety four campaign was so good, followed by four years of rubbish. this was his peak in my opinion & when he should have been matched against the best welters. his career could have been even better if don king hadn't have stalled it

---

I sort of see your point in that 1994 was the year of Camacho, Campas, and Carr.

But then I went through each year of The Ring Magazine's annual ratings from 1994 to 1999, and didn't see any names in the top ten that would've given Trinidad much trouble.

The three names I see that people talk about wishing had been matched against Trinidad are: Quartey, Mosley, and Forrest.

Yeah... it's too bad Trinidad didn't face any of those three. They would've been good fights.

However, you look at his record from the time he won that first championship, and you come away with a pretty good list of names.

But sure... his already super-impressive resume would've looked even better had he faced and beaten any of those three names.

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In my opinion, I don't think that Forrest, Quartey or Mosley were interested in fighting Trinidad. If they were, it wouldn't have gone well for them.

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Mosley was never able to solve Vernon Forrest. He would've fared worse against Trinidad.

Personally I think Quartey would've been the most competitive of the three... but I'd still bet on Trinidad to win inside the distance.

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

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Originally Posted by TIC

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

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Originally Posted by TIC

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

My favorite fighter has always been Felix Trinidad...

---

off topic. do you think we missed seeing tito at his best against the best?

---

Not sure what you mean.

---

i mean tito's ninety four campaign was so good, followed by four years of rubbish. this was his peak in my opinion & when he should have been matched against the best welters. his career could have been even better if don king hadn't have stalled it

---

I sort of see your point in that 1994 was the year of Camacho, Campas, and Carr.

But then I went through each year of The Ring Magazine's annual ratings from 1994 to 1999, and didn't see any names in the top ten that would've given Trinidad much trouble.

The three names I see that people talk about wishing had been matched against Trinidad are: Quartey, Mosley, and Forrest.

Yeah... it's too bad Trinidad didn't face any of those three. They would've been good fights.

However, you look at his record from the time he won that first championship, and you come away with a pretty good list of names.

But sure... his already super-impressive resume would've looked even better had he faced and beaten any of those three names.

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tito won the ibf belt in ninety-three, ninety-four was a brilliant year for him, then ninety-five to ninety-eight was four years wasted. pernell whitaker is the obvious one, he was there from ninety-three, they didn’t fight until ninety-nine. ike quartey was there from ninety-three, they never fought. jose luis lopez won the wbo belt in ninety-six, they never fought. oscar de la hoya was there from ninety-seven, they didn’t fight until ninety-nine. shane mosley didn’t move to welter until ninety-nine. vernon forrest only really became a contender around ninety-nine, so they are not really in the timeframe I am discussing

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Originally Posted by TIC

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

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Originally Posted by TIC

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

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Originally Posted by TIC

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TitoFan

My favorite fighter has always been Felix Trinidad...

---

off topic. do you think we missed seeing tito at his best against the best?

---

Not sure what you mean.

---

i mean tito's ninety four campaign was so good, followed by four years of rubbish. this was his peak in my opinion & when he should have been matched against the best welters. his career could have been even better if don king hadn't have stalled it

---

I sort of see your point in that 1994 was the year of Camacho, Campas, and Carr.

But then I went through each year of The Ring Magazine's annual ratings from 1994 to 1999, and didn't see any names in the top ten that would've given Trinidad much trouble.

The three names I see that people talk about wishing had been matched against Trinidad are: Quartey, Mosley, and Forrest.

Yeah... it's too bad Trinidad didn't face any of those three. They would've been good fights.

However, you look at his record from the time he won that first championship, and you come away with a pretty good list of names.

But sure... his already super-impressive resume would've looked even better had he faced and beaten any of those three names.

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tito won the ibf belt in ninety-three, ninety-four was a brilliant year for him, then ninety-five to ninety-eight was four years wasted. pernell whitaker is the obvious one, he was there from ninety-three, they didn’t fight until ninety-nine. ike quartey was there from ninety-three, they never fought. jose luis lopez won the wbo belt in ninety-six, they never fought. oscar de la hoya was there from ninety-seven, they didn’t fight until ninety-nine. shane mosley didn’t move to welter until ninety-nine. vernon forrest only really became a contender around ninety-nine, so they are not really in the timeframe I am discussing

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Yeah well you know... it happens. Every elite fighter could've fought x or y fighter and sometimes they fight late... or it never happens. Promoters are largely to blame. But that's the nature of the sport we all love.

So Tito should have faced Quartey and Lopez as well as Sweat Pea who were champions?

All of the belt holders never unified and were to blame. Not until Oscar came up and rocked the cartel did things start to happen.

Pernell Whitaker was recognised as the best for me at the weight at that time.

It's interesting looking back. I figure Tito didn't really waste time for a couple of years if he had guys like Jones Jr and Jim Lampley talking about a potential "super fight" regardless of 20+ lb difference. Largely based on Roy always going on about the p4p rankings but he talked that up more than a couple times. But I like the idea of fighters fighting the best in their same division first here ;D. The thing is of all mentioned Tito had and kept his momentum and arguably most of his top matches were still ahead of him. And Oscar was ahead for all of them save for Lopez. Lopez was really a risk reward situation and as fun and tough as he was he was also all over the map. Dude was a character as they say. Smoked a lot, blew up in weight after battering Yori Boy and career burned at both ends rather quickly. He wasn't helped by winning the wbo strap as it was still at the time pretty much dismissed and major bodies were not siding with it. Honestly save for the Chavez and McGirt II fights for Whitaker his parallel run with Tito at 147 was not all that super stellar. Was impressed with taking title off 154 Vasquez tbf. McGirt entered with a literal torn bicep in first fight and still held his own very close to point of a rematch. Whitaker and Tito were close and targeted 96'ish with HBO having a double header. Tito wanted it and said so often. Likewise Whitaker but big picture and momentum wise they were going in opposite directions. And some of Whitakers outside the ring habits may have been catching up. After the 'build' card Whitaker goes in with Rivera and imo lost a very close tough fight where he underperformed and had to have a rematch. It would have been excellent had they met prior to 99' but all the same politricks we see today helped trip it up. Cross promotion squabbles, tougher tune ups than expected and the stars not aligning perfectly. What an era nonetheless. They are all intertwined and were active ! fighting champions.

The thread is about Wilfredo Gomez, and somehow veered off to Felix Trinidad. ;D

But that got me to thinking about how these greats are ranked in the list of Puerto Rican champions.

Like any list of this sort, it depends on who you ask.

I've yet to see a ranking list based off a survey of Puerto Rican boxing fans... but I suspect it depends on the age you ask, that will decide the answers you get. ;D

Most lists I see on the web have Gomez, Wilfredo Benitez, and Carlos Ortiz as #1, 2, and 3 in whatever order... with Trinidad and Cotto coming in at #4 and 5 is some lists.

Interesting. :)

At some point I'll give it some thought and come up with my own list.

i thought rocky lockridge beat wilfredo. bazooka shouldn't have that third weight championship. rocky was a damn good fighter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW9ez_nYyL4