Boxing can be a very fickle sport sometimes. Just like the old saying What have you done for me lately?, people close to the sweet science are always looking for the next big thing or at least something to temporarily latch onto and being overlooked is simply a custom that has always existed in boxing. At the moment young upstart Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has some serious buzz behind him because of his newfound union with world renown trainer Freddie Roach as the son of the Mexican legend as appears to be making great strides. Just last November Chavez Jr. looked rather ordinary in pulling out a pedestrian decision over Troy Rowland in Las Vegas, but after being around the world class atmosphere inside of the Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles he has started to gain much more notice for his blossoming career. Chavez is slated to face off with very capable veteran Alfonso Gomez, known best for his time on NBCs The Contender series and his battles with the likes of Arturto Gatti and Miguel Cotto. It is a contest that many are expecting Chavez to win, as they are already looking towards his future 2011 campaign, but after speaking with Gomez you can tell instantly that he has no intentions of playing second fiddle when the two meet meet on December 4th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Gomezs early professional career saw him fighting often in Las Vegas and California, where he suffered two losses in his first eight bouts after facing a string of up and coming prospects. The learning lessons would come at a rapid rate for the Jalisco fighter but he has found a way to cope with everything and guide himself into the huge opportunity that exists next weekend. While he may be playing the role of the underdog, Gomez certainly has the feel of a winner about him. I caught up with Gomez last night and discussed everything that his career has meant to him, from his early childhood days, the defeats he suffered when he first turned professional, the notoriety he gained from being on The Contender and whether or not he has any ill will towards his younger foe. For Alfonso Gomez this is just business as usual and his words paint the picture of a fighter who is relishing the moment. Full of confidence and waiting for the moment... Ive been training at the La Habra Boxing Club and also on Maywood Boxing Club, thats where Ive been sparring. They have great champions there. Daniel Ponce De Leon trains there. Freddy Hernandez. They have Abner Mares over there. They have great fighters over there and its great to be in that sort of mix I have a lot of confidence. I just sparred twelve rounds and were working hard right now. I threw a lot of punches and my game plan is working perfectly now. I have a lot of confidence and Im just waiting for the day to arrive. Other than that Im just waiting and waiting and waiting. Thats the only thing in my head. Being overlooked I dont even remember that Im fighting at middleweight. Im just comfortable in the gym sparring with the bigger guys that I forget that Im fighting in a different weight class. And the fact that people overlook me, thats just common. Ive been overlooked all my life. So far Ive proven every single time that I work hard to the obstacles and opponent thats in front of me. I was overlooked by Gatti and Peter Manfredo, Jesse Brinkley because they were bigger. And Jose Luis Castillo and [Jesus] Soto Karass because they were ranked and they were legends. But so far Ive been beating these guys left and right and Ive been looking good in the gym. To me its nothing. Ive been through this so many times and I know what the outcome is going to be. Just as long as I train hard and stay focused the outcome should go in my favor. Growing up... I was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and just growing up I was around poverty like most of the Mexicans that were there. I never really felt poverty because my parents always tried to give us the best they could. Once we moved to the United States when I was about ten year old. Coming from over here I went to a different country with different language, different customs, different dress styles, I ended up getting bullied in school. Especially because of the black kids because we went to Oakland, California. Turning into a dream I went to some boxing clubs for self defense. It started like a self defense class, learning how to protect yourself. But little by little I started getting into these amateurs fights. Then I started seeing how my family would get together to see all of these legends fight. In my generation it was Julio Cesar Chavez, he was the one who everyone was following. Eventually it became a dream to be in the same shoes as Chavez, fighting those big fights and having people get together on the weekends and watch a fight and root for you. So it started like a self defense class, eventually turned into a dream and now its my career. So far I have achieved a lot and my life is good. Learning the hard way Definitely making the transition from amateur to professional was different than I expected. Might Dad also didnt know much about the pro game so we just went at it the best we could to see what we could do. We got pointed to this guy who they told us would be get us fights. But now, ten years later, we realize that this guy that we met was just the type of guy to get the opponents for the fighters who are promoted and protected by the promoters. So yeah, in the beginning I did have some losses. But I also had some victories because I was fed to the lions early and I started being called by the local newspapers The Executioner of the Undefeated. Because even though I was brought in to lose as a steppingstone for somebody, I would end up beating these guys. Little by little I gained a lot of experience. By my twelfth fight, even though I had a few losses, I already had the experience of fighting tough fights. Fights where I had broken noses and cuts. Even though it sucked losing early I think right now the fact that I am in this position was because I was able to beat those guys early the hard way. Remembering his time on The Contender series Obviously this is the story of my life. I got picked on that show because I had a good personality and a good life story behind me, but also my record didnt show a lot of skill because I was 10-2. Going into the Contender I wanted to win in and I knew that I was going to win it. I was in with a lot of other guys who though they were going to win it but once again, just like my early pro career, I stepped up to the biggest guy who was there, Peter Manfredo, and I beat him. Just fighting hard and it was a good experience to be on that show. I got to see how the world of television plays out and I got a taste of fame, which was really nice. And I got the popularity of a boxer that thousands of boxers wish they had. Some champions dont even have the popularity that we have on that show. So all in all it was a good show and it was a blessing to be on there. Defeating Arturo Gatti in Atlantic City It was a good training camp, the one I had for the Arturo Gatti fight. It was a dream come true since I remember. Five of us living in a one bedroom apartment. And I remember one day one of my relatives was showing us a tape of the Arturo Gatti-Mickey Ward fight. And it was a great fight, I was excited about it. I wished one day that I could have fought like him or fought him and it was cool to be able to fight him. I was expecting a great fight, a war up there, so I thought that his style and my style would match perfectly. But I think by fight time I was bigger than him, I was stronger than hi, and we didnt produce that type of battle. But the victory was one of the highlights of my life. That night was great. Coping with the Miguel Cotto defeat It was a very hard loss. Previous to that fight I fought Ben Tackie and I broke my hand in the second round. So for my training camp for Miguel Cotto, my hand was still injured. I couldnt bend my finger to make a fist. So my whole training camp sucked. I thought about pulling out of it but I decided not to because the opportunity was there. I wanted to go in there hoping maybe Miguel was injured too or that it wasnt hit night; you never know what can happen. Even that night we had to bring a doctor in, approved by the commission, to numb my hand in order to bend my finger so the glove would fit in. Otherwise it wouldnt fit because I couldnt bend my finger without being in pain. It was a good opportunity but all in all it was a bad night for me. Even thought I wanted to win I didnt have the energy, the tools or the preparation. Never the less it still hurt to lose. I shed a tear here and there but its all just a memory now. Nothing personal against Chavez Jr.... Its not at all personal. Hes a great kid and I told him that. Anything I say is just for laughs. I told him that its nothing personal. Its just my way of expressing myself. I actually told him that I respect him a lot because it takes a lot of balls to be up in that ring. I think he has some extra pressure having that last name of Chavez. Because many Mexican people are looking for him to replace his Dad and those are big shoes for him to fill. Other than that, to me its not personal. Its not just another fight for me; its a big fight for me. Its the type of fight that I can use to become a household name amongst the Mexican fans. Its a very important fight for me.
