I am forgotten today but I flattened 65 opponents in 65 wins. I was a purple heart recipient wounded in 16 places and in a military hospital for 6 months, resumed my dynamite punching until kod by a future great champion. Fate was not kind to me. Who am I ?
Good show O. Yes Tommy Gomez a sensational 185 pound knockout artist who flattened 65 oppnents in 76 wins. He went into the Army in WW2 and earned a purple heart, wounded in 16 places and recuperated in an Army hospital for 6 long months. Resumed his career flattening most everybody, until the fatal night of Aug. 8,1946, when a resurgent Jersey Joe Walcott found his stride and kod tommy Gomez in the 3rd round of a slugfest which I attended. Enter JJ Walcott, Sayonara Tommy Gomez... What a war it would have been between the pre-war Tommy Gomez and the young Rocky Marciano...Oh gosh.....
the best thing about these little quizzes of yours Burt, is it shows just how many great fighters boxing has produced over the years and you have seen a ton of them too. Man what a priviliged youth you had Burt. who are your favs, in the 8 taditional weights?
Thank you T...If I was "privileged" to see all the great fighters in my youth , I owe it to my dad who did a litttle 'smoker" boxing in his youth during the roaring twenties, and started to take me to the Golden Gloves bouts in NYC when I was a young tot. And by happenstance my family lived next door to a trainer of the great LH, John Henry Lewis...Every night I would go next door and spar with stablemates of JH Lewis, eat my salad with olive oil,[a habit to this day], and became friendly to a WW named tommy Jones, who to get bouts, went to Australia with one of his conquerers,tough Jimmy Leto...I never saw JH Lewis, but I became hooked on boxing then and to this day...My first pro main event my dad took me to was when the sensational young Beau Jack fought a hard nosed toughie Terry Young, a friend of Rocky Graziano...I remember that night vividly today as I saw a giant HWt Big Ben Morosz, who was close to 7 feet tall. So T, yes I was lucky to have my dad inculcate me in boxing lore, especially when he would tell me of the time he as a young man saw the great Harry Greb tear his neighberhood favorite Gene Tunney apart at MSG in 1922. His idol then became Harry Greb...Don't get me started T:good
