Name a more exciting fantasy fight than Wilfredo Gomez vs Erik Morales

I couldn't agree more. And Chava was a better fighter than Gomez as well, not just because he was bigger.

 

Why is it obvious that he wasn't as good 4 pounds north?

 

At 127 it would indeed be a back and forth war, though I would favor Gomez.
At 122, Gomez slaughters Morales. Yes, there was something mystical about that 122 class with the Bazooka.

 

Gomez v. Fenech at 122 lbs.

 

Great shout. Or Hank vs JCC

 

Because he absolutely got his ass handed to him by both Chava and Azumah at 126 whereas generally considered lesser p4p fighters like Ruben Castillo did far better against Chava at 126. In my opinion, he's an at atg at 122, but not an atg at 126. The added 4 pounds definitely make a difference in his case. Just curious, do you believe he's an atg at 122, and do you believe he's an atg at 126?

 

Gomez was a natural Bantamweight that fought at 122 because it let him take it easier as far as weightmaking goes, he was no bigger than Olivares and smaller than Zarate.He was not as big a man as Pac, Morales, or even Barrera...the first two who were huge at the weight and cutting down.Neither would have likely ever fought there for any length of time in Gomez era.

Also Gomez started to let his KO and title run go to his head a bit, had become a well known Olivares-esque party animal by the Sanchez fight and had already started to neglect some of the finer skills he showed earlier in his career.

Add in that a decent but not great chin as one of his weaker points and though the fight was rightfully a shock in it's emphatic nature at the time it's not nearly as surprising with considered unbiased later ****ysis that a big solid featherweight ATG boxer-puncher with a granite chin like Sanchez could have a showcase performance against him.Natural bantam to feather was a tough jump to make back then especially if the bigger guy is a a genuine great too.

he'd likely still have had enough to beat plenty of lesser featherweights that night, but after it he had a lot taken out of him for his subsequent efforts at the weight.With time to ease into the weight against weaker comp he may have ultimately proved more effective there than he did, yet would always have been undersized.

 

Gomez had an inherent sneakiness to go with his speed and power at 122. that is why he was so devastating vs Zarate, for instance. He had a fast-twitch trigger finger and when he saw an opening and had you going, he was sheer murder. I also believe that Bazooka was a bit of a sadist in that he enjoyed the cruelty that he dished out like a cat toying with his prey. He was like a puppet master vs Juan LaPorte, and could box you all night long if a certain chin resisted wrecking. I believe that the best version of Gomez destroys the best version of Morales.....much like he did Zarate. Why even bother with considering a lesser version of Gomez, such as the versions that lost to Sanchez and Nelson?

 

I believe he's an ATG fighter period. I think the fact he lost to Sanchez is irrespective because Sanchez himself is a great. The Nelson fight he was winning before being stopped from what I recall and again Nelson himself is a great fighter.

All of the fights he won in his career I feel he would have won if he weighed 126 as well, I don't think necessarily the weight is the reason he lost, he lost because he came up against 2 ATG punchers who were also ATG talents.

My point is 30 years earlier he'd have been forced to be a BW or a FW and I firmly believe he'd have been a great at any weight, but a great who could and would lose to fellow great fighters.

Had the 4 pounds added actually negatively affected his skills as a fighter he wouldn't he wouldn't put the 4 pounds on, he'd come in under weight.

So I don't think he forged an ATG career at 126, but I don't think that reflects upon his abilities to fight at 126.

 

Salvador Sanchez is absolutely one of my favorite fighters ever (and personally I do not like Gomez), but Sal's not an atg puncher. He's more of a sharp, accurate, accumulation type puncher. Do you really believe that he is an atg puncher? And if the 4 pounds didn't make a difference with the 5'5" Gomez, how would you explain lesser p4p fighters doing better against Sal than Gomez did? Styles? Chin? And finally because I seem to be the question man tonight, how do see a Pac Gomez matchup at both 122 and 126 panning out? Do you foresee the same outcome at both weights?

 

The best version of Morales isn't 122 pounds though. So I guess technically that's not a hypothetical matchup.

 

At 126 Pacquiao easily defeats Gomez. By knockout and probably early.

At 122 it would be an easier go of it for Gomez. First of all Pacquiao was smaller, greener and just less of a monster at 122. I'd say Pacquiao is trailing on the cards before he scores the KO in the 11th round.

 

Punching isn't just about power in these kind of fights. It's more about a chin: power ratio, like the way Eubank was able to bomb Benn, Sanchez could take more and dish out more and over the fight that told. I'm not convinced by tales of a party lifestyle because I haven't looked into it.

So yes, styles, I think Sanchez was the better mam on the night, not the bigger man. Against Nelson, one punch changed the fight.

Now this is th crux of the issue. It's a two part question really 1) does Gomez suffer from being 4 pounds heavier 2) does Pac benefit from being 4 pounds heavier. It's a question I go back and forth on since I began asking it a month ago as I was compiling my FW and SBW atg lists.

For starters I feel like Gomez is a superior fighter, both men are in my top 25 all time but Gomez is a higher. Stylistically Pac can bomb out any fighter below WW but wasn't as multi dimensional as Gomez and with that in kind I feel like Gomez should be a favourite at SBW.

As they move up in weight, what happens, Gomez does not get any better and some argue he gets a bit worse, so he might he best served not moving up at all. As Pac moves up he loses no hand speed but gains an extra 4 pounds of muscle, does that make him more durable and better able to take Gomez's shots? Maybe, it certainly makes his own shots more effective and we know Gomez cam be hurt. So does the 4 pounds make Pac a slight favourite? It just might do. I don't personally believe Gomez is any inferior at 4 pounds north, but I certainly believe Pac is superior as he was able to carry his power and given that he would, imo, take the role of the aggressor due t his hand speed and ambush attacks, he might just be the victor.

So in this instance I would say Pac wins not because he's better, but because he's bigger.

 

Cheers

 

Sanchez was just better. Way better. Not only that, but he was on a mission to destroy Gomez. He seemed to fight down to his competition. But against Bazooka he was a man on a mission. One punch ruined bazooka in that fight. And it wasn't even that powerfully thrown. Didn't he say he didn't remember the rest of the fight after the knockdown?