Or maybe it was in the very first minute of the fight when Gomez forced Sanchez into a blistering exchange on the ropes. It’s possible the contest was decided right then and there. At the weigh-in “Bazooka” was four pounds over the limit and had to visit the sauna for a while before finally making weight. For some reason, Gomez failed to do the same. The stoic Sanchez coolly ignored the baiting and went about making sure he was in the best shape of his life. ![]() The 21-year-old rose from obscurity to defeat Danny “Little Red” Lopez and had gone on to defend his title six times, in the process becoming a fresh new star in the sport.īut Gomez appeared to view Sanchez as an unworthy champion and embraced the role of cocky macho man, taunting Sanchez at every opportunity, questioning his manhood and promising everyone a short night. While not as proven a champion as Gomez, he had impressed everyone with his toughness, his excellent counter-punching skills, and his coolness under pressure. But Mexicans had faith in the talent of Sanchez. Instead, Sanchez vs Gomez took place, like so many other great fights of the eighties, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, while millions of Hispanics mobbed closed-circuit television outlets to watch what was, for them, the Superbowl of boxing for 1981.įor several years Wilfredo Gomez had been one of the sport’s best fighters, dominating the super-bantamweight division and in the process putting together an amazing 32 bout knockout streak. “The Battle of the Little Giants” they called it, and they could have filled any stadium they wanted in Mexico City, San Juan or Los Angeles. Mexican fight fans looked to Sanchez to exact revenge, but the odds-makers figured Gomez a solid favorite. That said, the decades-old rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico had only intensified since Wilfredo’s career-defining victory over the great Carlos Zarate in 1978. Wilfredo “Bazooka” Gomez and Salvador “Chava” Sanchez were two of the best in the sport, pound-for-pound both were not just champions, but future Hall of Famers. Of course, as all serious fight fans know, any clash involving top talents from Mexico and Puerto Rico is a must-watch event, but this particular duel needed no historical context to amplify its significance. Such was the case with Sanchez vs Gomez, an historic battle between truly great champions. But every once in a while boxing manages to put together the perfect match-up, a confrontation at the right time between two supreme talents. Why didn’t Ray Leonard or Thomas Hearns ever sling leather with Aaron Pryor? How could they not make Lennox Lewis vs Riddick Bowe? Most recently, it appears Errol Spence vs Terence Crawford will never materialize. It’s a shame Jack Dempsey never faced Harry Wills, or that Sugar Ray Robinson and Charley Burley never locked-up. ![]() One of the perennial frustrations of being a boxing fan is that so many of the most intriguing and meaningful match-ups simply never happen.
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