Michael Gomez's considered reflections by Terry Dooley Oct 18th 2007

The day after the abortive last stand of archetypal Mexican warrior Marco Antonio Barrera – well abortive for those who watched the fight on Setanta sports – BBN went to meet a Mancunian warrior whose entire ring style is styled on the Mexican fighters.  In typical Michael Gomez fashion, even his ring persona isn't straight forward.  Wearing a sombrero en route to the ring to acknowledge his Mexican influence, his surname was pinched from Wilfredo - who happened to be a Puerto Rican, not a Mexicano. Gomez is hoping, though, that his British super-featherweight title fight with Carl Johanneson in Doncaster on Friday, on a Frank Maloney bill, will not be his last stand. It might be his latest, and most improbable, comeback thus far however Gomez feels that the fight itself is there for him to win. The champion, Carl Johanneson, is on his way back from a brutal four round dismantling brought forth by the fists of Leva Kirakosayan for the EBU title. Although in some ways this result was a step forwards for Carl, as he had previously lost to Leva in a single round, it was a demoralising destruction that may well have left Carl damaged goods; goods that have been put on the shelf for a final clearance sale. We had arranged to meet Gomez near to his home and the Moston based gym of Brian Hughes was the closest reference point.  The light was receding into dusk and as shadows began to appear across Brian Hughes' boxing gym, the figure of Gomez came ambling down the street. He crept into our peripheral perception so subtly that for a moment, as he walked close to the walls of the gym, you could not tell where the gym ended and Gomez began.  His talk and general demeanour did not carry with it the usual ‘wall of sound' Gomez style, it seemed that Michael was in a reflective mood this particular day. As he brought us into his home he pointed out a painting on the wall.  On the one side was the familiar face of Gomez in a typical fighting pose, on the other side was the profile of his inspiration, Wilfredo Gomez.  It could certainly be interpreted, wrongly, as a precocious comparison for the artist to make. Alternatively it shows, for Michael Gomez, that there is an ideal fighting style and identify the Mancunian aspired to reach, and continues to do so. Boxing is about hope, aspiration and attainment; everyone starts with the first two but very few gain the third. The two Gomez's, at different levels, did, yet now Michael Gomez is full of hope and aspiration once again and feels that this Friday will see the re-attainment of achievement as he annexes the title he feels has belonged to him, in spirit, for almost a decade.  Michael wasted no time in establishing his sense of satisfaction with his preparations for the fight. Michael Gomez: “Everything has gone perfect. It's gone according to plan. I've had some good sparring and I've sparred some big lads. My sharpness is there. Everything is coming back. Plus I've made the weight easily.” First and foremost on the minds of most people is the worry that Gomez, who for so long struggled making the weight, is both past his prime and boiled down into a weight that he finds torture. Gomez disagrees. He feels that he has been able to look away from the issue of making weight and concentrate on working on his head movement, which let him down in his last fight, with plenty of sparring: MG: “We brought in Danny Harding who is a lightweight. We brought Peter Allen and Jon Kays in. We could only get two or three rounds each out of them.  “I sparred Danny Harding and broke his nose (Writer's note: Harding was carrying a sinus problem into the sessions, two days worth, with Gomez). I knocked all of Peter Allen's teeth out. “We needed lads who could stay in there with me but even then they struggled. I've been doing eight and ten rounds of sparring and the stamina is good. I've been fine and healthy in the gym and have to do good on the night.” Sparring is good preparation for a fight but it is not the final word, nor does it replicate the circumstances of the fight, therefore, for Gomez, stories about him dominating Johanneson in sparring, whilst Michael was under Billy Graham, do not bring anything to bear on the fight itself: MG: “You can't take much from me sparring (Carl) because the person who spars is not the person who turns up for the fight. “The best thing about Carl Johanneson is that he is like Alex Arthur. He scares me because I know he can bang and my best performances come when I'm scared. The fear gives me that extra edge and that is what Carl gives me.  “It is going to be my biggest and best comeback ever and I'll look good after I've done with Carl Johanneson. My physical and mental strength is there.” On the other hand there exists the possibility that Carl himself will be wary of Gomez. The stoppage at the fists of Kirakosyan was so one-sided and definitive that it must have left mental scars on Carl. Added to this brew is the fact that Gomez defeated Kirakosayan, albeit on a retirement, himself shortly before Leva levelled Carl for the first time (MG: “I weathered the Kirakosayan storm but Carl did not have the wherewithal to do it.”): MG “Yes (Carl will be scared of me). For one Kirakosayan, who I stopped, battered him. In sparring the thing that I remember is that Carl just shuts up shop. He tightened up when I came at him. I saw him against Billy Corcoran and Ricky Burns. When he soaks up those right hands he seems to freeze so he might be a bit chinny.  “Carl's been stopped a few times and I can see why. I felt a little of his power in 16oz gloves so I have to be a little bit clever myself. That's the best thing about me.  “I worked with two of the best trainers in Britain – if not the world – in Billy Graham and Brian Hughes so they taught me a few things. Brian taught me an excellent jab and how to work with both hands. Billy taught me how to apply pressure and inside work, really good inside work.  “Another thing I was taught by Billy is how to survive when I'm hurt. You saw that in the Alex Arthur fight. I've taken both sides of that training and brought them together with Bobby Rimmer's training to produce the best of Michael Gomez and it will be the best Michael Gomez of all time. “I know 100% my stamina is there. I would love to beat Carl on twelfth round stoppage. Just to shut everyone up.” On the other side of the spectrum is the scenario that Johanneson needs a decent win to regain his confidence and, to that end, a shot Gomez fits the bill perfectly. Certainly the evidence Carl must have taken from Gomez's last fight would suit this thinking. My perspective, the one I put to Gomez, was that he had a tough time in his fight with Youssef Al Hamidi. Gomez, however, was quick to disagree:  MG: “Nah, nah! It would be unfair to say that I didn't have a nice time in that fight. For one I was 13st 8lb when I came back (to the gym) so I lost a lot of weight and, for two, the only reason it was a bad performance was because the kid cut me. That's why I didn't have a nice time.  “I had a slow round in the first round then banjoed him in the next two rounds. I dropped him and stopped him by the third round so you can't say it is a bad performance. I got cut and the reason I got cut so easily was that my body was getting used to being 9st 6lb again. This time the face will hold up. Plus I've got some nice face cream to put on these days! “My face has been holding up in sparring. My face is battle hardened and should hold up but only time will tell. The most exciting thing about this fight is that people are saying Michael Gomez is finished but Michael Gomez is not finished.  “I've lost fights. I've been flat and what have you but I'm not finished. Michael Gomez can be hurt. Michael Gomez can be cut. But Michael Gomez can knock you clean out.” At this point Gomez sought to address Johanneson directly:  MG: “Carl. You can be hurt. Michael Gomez can take you out of the game and that is what makes our fight exciting. No matter what happens – if it goes one round or it goes twelve rounds – it is going to be exciting. On the poster it says ‘Nowhere to run and nowhere to hide' and one thing is for sure, I won't be the one hiding.  "We don't think Johanneson's going to fight (with) me because he hasn't got the balls to fight me.” The crucial thing in this fight, one of the keys to it, is that no one can say for sure what mental state Johanneson will be in:  MG: “It's hard to say what his head will be like. I turned my back on Peter McDonagh - which was a bizarre and mad thing to do - in a fight I was winning. So you never know how it works. He's just been knocked out again by Leva. You don't know how that will make him think.  “He might think I'm old. I'm slow. I was getting hit a lot in the last couple of fights but I was shaking off the rust. Everything is coming back. My head movement is coming back and I've been smashing people in sparring so it is going to be a good performance.” However, it is a title fight that has fallen into Gomez's lap. Boxing is only charitable to fighters once they are in retirement. Gomez has been given this fight because he looked poor last time out, in this writer's opinion, and because he has not had enough ring time to shake the rust off. Gomez himself acknowledges that the timing of the fight, Carl's last fight aside, favours the champion physically: MG: “In a realistic world I would have liked another fight to shake the rust off.  “Then again in another realistic world he wouldn't like to be in with Michael Gomez, who is a massive puncher and will take chances. You have to take chances in this game and I've taken my chances when the time is right. “He's picked me as a voluntary so what does that tell you? He thinks I'm finished I'm easy. (That) he's going to wipe the floor with me but Alex Arthur thought all those things. Alex Arthur picked me because he thought he could beat me.  “People who are going to have a chance to beat me are boxers and Carl Johanneson is not a boxer. If he tries to out-jab me he'll get the shock of his life. I'm going to start knocking people out again. There are two ways I'm coming out of that ring, with the British title or on a stretcher. If I lose he will have to lay me out clean. “I've been down and came back up but this is all new to him. It isn't new to me. I've been retired and I didn't like it so I'll fight harder than him. He hasn't been retired. He doesn't know what that is like but he will find out after this fight. I want one more chance. Another slice of the cake. With all that said I asked Gomez what would be next for him if he won this fight: MG: “No, no listen. When I win this fight. When I win this fight. There is nothing else in my mind. I ain't talking about the Mitchell fight or this and that fight. All that matters right now is Carl Johanneson.”  Everyone anticipates a war. On the other hand it would be sensible for Carl to box his way into the bout in the hope that Gomez cuts easy, and cuts bad, therefore allowing Carl the luxury of keeping Michael on the end of long shots. Gomez himself feels that a boxing performance from Carl is a contradiction in terms; such is the greater estimation, and, therefore, esteem, by Gomez of his own boxing ability: MG: “Let's get it straight. Carl Johanneson is a good boxer, a good puncher, but for one my fitness is great.  “For two Carl Johanneson cannot outbox me. People forget what a good amateur I was. They forget what a good boxer I was earlier on in my career. I fought Kevin Shields and boxed him with my hands down and dancing around.  “You can't outbox me. I'll jab your head off. If he comes to have a fight with me it is going to be early Christmas for everyone because I don't know who's going to go but someone's going to go and it's not going to be me.” So that is a KO prediction, picking himself, by Gomez. In a fight where two onrushing forces collide the power carried by wither will be crucial to the outcome, as will the ability to absorb punishment. Gomez claims that he has seen Carl's power close-at-hand and Michael does not seem unduly worried about it: MG: “I'm not wary about it. Common sense tells me it is that fear factor I need but he will fear me as well. When he felt my power in sparring he shut up shop. I was supposed to spar with him since then but he would never turn up. He doesn't fancy it. I'm gonna beat him.  “Power is a big issue but I've been in with bigger punchers and beaten them - Kirakosayan is a massive puncher. I've been in with better boxers and beaten them – Alex Arthur who is a great boxer and puncher. I've beaten dangerous guys before.  “You tell me this. Apart from Kirakosayan who has Carl Johanneson been in with who is a dangerous puncher? Billy Corcoran is not a dangerous puncher but he hurt Carl with a right hand. Femi Fehintola cannot crack an egg so they put him in with Carl. I'm the biggest puncher he has faced. Plus I'm game and I want it this time. Three times British super-featherweight Champion. Count it. Not one time, not two times but three times.” Once again the talk moved onto the mental make-up of the man he is due to face this Friday. This time, though, Gomez was prepared to paint a more positive picture of the mental effects Carl will be feeling after his last fight: MG: “Thinking he is going to be fucked-up is a bad thing for me. He is more dangerous than ever because he's not just trying to prove things to us but he's proving them to himself as well. Nigel Benn was at his most dangerous when he was hurt.  “This is where this kid becomes more dangerous than ever. I think he is a good fighter. He just doesn't hold a good shot and I'll be hitting him with plenty.” Pre-fight opinion has oscillated between both fighters yet the general consensus is that a visceral mêlée awaits. For many it is a fight that will make Gomez turn his back on boxing for the final time, the final swansong in a sport that he no longer truly loves anymore: MG: “It doesn't matter what people say. I'll be British Champion so who gives a fuck? What they should be saying is “how many more times is Michael Gomez going to come back?”. Fucking hell this is going to be a massive comeback. I can't wait.” Finally I asked Gomez, again, if he would speculate on what is next for him if he wins this fight: MG: “When I win this one, when I win this one, you keep saying if. Fuck Mitchell. I ain't thinking about Mitchell. I've got a load of his fights but I haven't bothered watching them. I've never even seen Kevin Mitchell fight.”

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