Who was capable of beating Wilfredo Gomez at 122?

I think so too, but I'm not sure. I mean Jeff did walk down Nelson in the first fight and put a beating on him. If that Fenech turns up it could be on.

I think if you are willing to give Gomez the benefit of the doubt against a supposedly sick Zarate (seems like you are) we should give Jeff the benefit of the doubt against a supposedly sick Nelson.

 

The first fight against Nelson was a robbery. Fenech won easily.

 

That's a tough question. Gomez may be the fighter with the best claim of being the best in their division's history out of any fighter or any division(except for maybe Holyfield at cruiserweight). I can't picture Barrera, Morales, or fenech beating Gomez at 122....Barrera and Morales might stand a chance, but Fenech would be crushed IMO. I'll jump on board with the poster who suggested that Wilfredo Vasquez might stand a chance. If anyone had the power and confidence to match Gomez at 122, it's vasquez. Gomez was most probably better than Vasquez in most aspects of the game....but Vasquez, with his power game, would stand a chance of ambushing Gomez and stopping him....maybe not a great chance, but certainly a chance.

 

Great alibi to use, particularly to save face with your Mexican countrymen, who REALLY hate losers. I believe that Gomez was the most talented 122 pound champion ever, and had his best fight against Zarate. Maybe Alfonso Zamora was sick when he fought Zarate, it's a great alibi.

 

Wilfredo its good to see him mentioned and not forgotten, best chance I say Erik Morales, Jeff Chandler, maybe Fenech maybe Barrera.

But the Gomez who beat Zarate in good shape and with a good gameplan would and had the stuff to beat those guys. That is my very biased opinion since Gomez was a favorite of mine always.

 

i think fenech would have a great chance... if his hands held up, i think better then morales, barrera or pac just because of the clash of style of gomez and fenech. fenech is just simply a gritty fighter that could out last good fighters while out working them. i think a factor in this fight is that fenech could smother and flurry, but he had a real good lead right hand that could was very straight down the pipe and could break a guys rythm. its a real toss up because wilfred was not a good fighter at superbantam... he was virtually perfect... at the same note, fenech was virtually perfect as well at bantam.

 

I would have to say Chandler and Morales. You had to have a chin and a gameplan to and the skills to keep him off him. They can do it.

 

I'm a huge fan of Chandler but i can't see his durability holding up in this one a full division up against one of the best P4P fighters and hitters ever. Top fighter tho, i am a big fan - at Bantamweight.

 

What everybody needs to remember about Gomez was that he had tremendous mobility and defensive elusiveness at 122, along with uncanny accuracy. Former amateur conquerer Derrik Holmes did make Bazooka look like a statue with his blinding opening round speed, but Wilfredo had matured into an extremely strong professional champion who was able to weather the storm although out on his feet. Gomez also came off the deck in the first round to dethrone Dong Kyun Yum.

If Gomez was not overconfident and in shape, as he was for Holmes, he could withstand tremendous punishment. Pintor swelled up his face and battered his ribs, but it was Lupe who fell at the end, when Wilfredo was probably already past his best. So in peak form, it was difficult to land on his face or body (he was excellent at picking off bodyshots), and when challengers did finally get to him, he proved he was more than capable of taking it at 122.

Having a height and reach advantage at 122 did not help, as Zarate and Kid Mesa discovered. Eddie Ndukwu's peek-a-boo defense was utterly useless against Gomez, who was openly sympathetic towards the Commonwealth titleholder at the end of round one (placing a patronizing arm around Eddie's shoulder as the bell rang). In fact, when he later knocked Ndukwu backwards, Wilfredo actually ran after his falling target, catching him to prevent his falling through the ropes out of the ring! (Could you imagine Duran doing that?) I don't recall Gomez missing a single punch against Eddie. He treated it almost like a sparring session, tho it was obvious he could end matters at will.

At 122, Wilfredo wasn't blessed with blistering speed, but he was impeccably balanced and effortlessly quick. When he came in at less than the super bantamweight limit, he almost invariably shut out his opponents on the scorecards until the inevitable stoppage.

Derrik Holmes took him out in one round as an amateur. He was certainly in no way intimidated at the outset of their professional rematch, especially after almost immediately putting Gomez out on his feet again. His confident boldness did not prevent Gomez from quickly fracturing his jaw, sending Holmes to the deck about nine times on Friday Night Fights. (Wilfredo kept getting right in Derrik's face after each knockdown, exhorting him to come back up to take more abuse.)

Gomez was one of the very few world class boxers of his era who could uppercut effectively with both hands. (He aptly demonstrated this ability against Carlos Mendoza.) Rather than try splitting Ndukwu's guard that way, he simply went around it to pummel the sides of the Nigerian's head and body, using well timed movements to easily evade Eddie's attempts to counter. (Wilfredo was making him miss by feet, not inches.) He was a murderous bodypuncher as well. For a brief moment, he did manage to buckle Sanchez, something even Little Red failed to do in 27 rounds.

Not being intimidated by Gomez would not have been nearly enough when he was at his best. Good luck catching and outscoring him. He was arguably more dominant at 122 than Arguello was at 130, when making weight was not an issue. Before asking who could have beaten him, determining who might even last 15 rounds might be more apropos. (Jofre and Famechon are obvious choices here.) Wilfredo was criticized during his peak for occasionally choosing to use a walk-in style, but when he elected to box elegantly he brought his performance to another level. It seems that many think of him as a brawler and slugger, because his most memorable affairs consisted of that kind of action. His skill should not be overlooked.

 

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Prime version of Olivares was very crafty and would have found a way to beat Gomez.