HERE’S A ROBBERY SOME MIGHT REMEMBER
San Francisco, CA- Having seen and heard all the noise coming from those that thought Paul Malignaggi won his fight with eventual unanimous decision winner Juan Diaz, I will first bring you back a few weeks, this before we step back in time 24 years this past May 19th. The site was San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the fight shown on Network TV here in the US, was Rocky Lockridge defending the WBA 130 lb. title he won via KO 1 over Roger Mayweather, vs. Wilfredo Gomez.
GOMEZ WAS AN ICONIC PUNCHER/CHAMP AT 122
Back in the days when World title fights were 15 round tests of stamina and not 12-round pugilistic sprints, Lockridge, a slight favorite, was 36-3. Gomez, a former great at 122 lbs., he had enjoyed moderate success at 126. But at this point in time, the man who met Salvador Sanchez in 1982, Gomez was completely shot at 40-2-1 with 39 KOs.
PUERTO RICAN HAD PROBLEMS WITH BOTH “COKE & FRIES”
Having had issues with both Cocaine and calories, Wilfredo was also a mess outside of the ring. Unable to make weight for the biggest fight of his life, the battle with Sanchez, I couldn’t believe it when the late Nevada Commission chief Chuck Minker told the media that Gomez weighed 130 for a 126 lb. fight. Now nearly three years removed from Sanchez, Gomez was supposed to be just a “name” opponent for Lockridge, who was coming into his prime.
DIDN’T LOOK LIKE HE COULD LAST 15 ROUNDS
With Gomez doing his best impersonation of a chubby asthmatic, Rocky won nearly all the rounds and yet Gomez won the fight! Officially, the scorecard looked like this: Humberto Figueroa 145-144, and Marcos A. Torres’ 145-143 were for Gomez. Guy Jutras had it even at 144-144. Lockridge, whom we featured in a story a few weeks ago, down on his luck and living on the streets of New Jersey, did rebound and win the IBF version of the title before losing it in the 1988 “Fight of The year” to Tony Lopez.
(WBA) WORLD OF BUNCO & ANARCHY STILL HAS NO SHAME
Gomez dropped the title via KO in his next outing to nothing close to a household name in Alfredo Layne (13-5). Had Lockridge not been screwed in Puerto Rico, he would surely have made more money as the defending WBA champion than he did in trying to claw his way back to a “money” position. This was a far greater injustice than the Diaz-Malinaggi. But one needs to realize that no matter the measure of injustice determined or perceived, it is still just that, injustice!
Pedro Fernandez