Sanchez vs Gomez expectations

That was the fight for me to finally start paying much more attention to a guy's legs. And what happens when they go.

Early 122 version of Gomez would dip and be about a foot from the canvas. And punch out of it. The opponents would throw and miss completely or catch the top of his head. He'd dip extremely low and punch coming out of it with both hands! Springs for legs. Great great balance for a puncher. But by the time he fought that rematch with that guy, I forget his name now, he was upright and the bout went 11 rounds. Wasn't his name Lopez too? Cannot remember and too lazy to look it up. But the Gomez effectiveness took a big step backwards. No more dipping down. Upright. Legs spread further apart. At times during the bout he would not be bending at all and those knees would be locked.

But Sanchez himself had some rather pedestrian efforts at times. And he was a 15 round fighter so he was not a guy getting the spectacular early results like Gomez was. So a lot of folks thought Wilfredo might get the ko.

But everyone knew going into the fight that a really good fighter was going to come out of it with a L on their record. Seldom do we get those kinds of fights and usually we get upsets or expected results given the opposition. It sure is nice when 2 top notch guys like that sign contracts to fight each other. And you really can make a case for either guy winning it. Both have the capability to dig deep and you had a ton of title defenses between them. Not guys with a history of losing.

 

Me too, though I don't think it would end well for him.

 

I agree Gomez carried the weight just fine he had power at 126 and even 130 but I think 126 could have been his upper limit though he did beat Lockridge at 130 and showed his skill was still considerable.....but I agree this was a case of Sanchez greatness more than Gomez not being big enough.....a rematch or a trilogy would have answered that.

 

I was a huge fan of both but thought Sal would outpoint Gomez over 10.

The shocker wasn’t so much that Sanchez won but HOW he won ... he engaged from the first bell and took the fight to Gomez and outslugged the slugger.

 

The Lockridge fight was a shocking robbery tho Rich.

 

I'm not so sure. Gomez loved it rough and dirty. Pedroza may have been a bit slick as Gomez was declining by the time it would have happened.

 

One of the best matchups of the 80s. If it had never happened and we were talking fantasy, I think most people would be split down the middle on who would win. It's one of those rare matchups where an even matchup on paper turns into a one-sided beating. Particularly as it was the underdog who handed out the beating.

If Gomez did take Sanchez lightly, that was on him and I never like taking credit away from a brilliant win so I see this fight as a reflection of Sanchez's greatness not Gomez's lack of preparation leading up to the fight. It's always the boxer's responsibility to come into a fight in great shape so if he chooses not to, it's not a poor reflection on the other guy.

For years, I made excuses for James Toney's defeat against Roy Jones by saying Toney wasn't in shape and if he had been, it'd have been different - because I was a Toney fan. But now, I just give the credit to Jones. Toney had his chance and he blew it through a lack of professionalism. If Gomez did the same in the Sanchez fight, that's tough on him. Fortunately, it didn't affect his overall legacy too much. He was still a great fighter. But on that night, and when it really mattered, Sanchez was greater.

 

While it's fun to think about how far he could've gone being that good, that young, Sanchez was already looking ahead to life after boxing. He invested his earnings well and was planning on retiring by the end of 83 so he could study to become a doctor.

Given his mindset, I wouldn't have been surprised at all if he'd stuck to that.

 

It was but he was able to hang with a top caliber 130 fighter even though I agree Lock got the shaft.....130 might have been a step too big for Gomez

 

Entering the fight with a record of 32-0-1(32), Gomez had to be unnerved by Sanchez’s stoicism in calmly taking his best shots throughout.

I don’t see Gomez ever being able to reverse the result. I’ve always believed it’s easier for a fighter, particularly elite fighters with fearsome reputations, to psychologically recover from an early one punch KO than it is for them to recover from a prolonged beating, which Sanchez vs Gomez clearly was.

 

Agreed. I think its way easier for an action fighter to swallow that the other guy just landed the right shot before he did than it is to try everything for an extended time and have nothing work. The latter is much more demoralizing

 

Gomez was heavily declined by then too Rich.

 

I'm usually about 50/50 when it comes to fight picks, but this is one I got right. I know Gomez was a large betting favorite, but after watching Chava dismantle quite possibly the hardest punching featherweight ever in Little Red on 2 occasions, I had no reason to believe that Sal couldn't take Gomez's biggest bombs. What I was surprised about was how comprehensively Sal beat the crap out of Bazooka. It didn't hurt either that Sal is one of my all time favs, and I never liked Bazooka lol.

 

Didn't know any of that, John. Thanks

 

Sounds like a lame excuse.

In hindsight it was crazy that Gomez was the favorite since he had done nothing at 126 lbs. and Sanchez was already well proven and had shown an anvil like chin - which could neutralize Gomez's main advantage - punching power.

There was no need for a rematch - Gomez was the challenger and was absolutely thrashed.