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Dealing With Volume Punching Pressure Fighters From Perspective of Recent Boxing History By Teodoro Medina Reynoso PhilBoxing.com Tue, 07 Mar 2023  Current Mexican American featherweight sensation Brandon Figueroa may not be the ideal volume punching pressure fighter from purely physiological standpoint. Tall and lanky with choirboy look to boot, he may even strike some observers as weak and vulnerable. But didn't the legendary Nicaraguan Flaco Explosivo or explosive thin man Alexis Arguello look the same? But then the similarity ends there as Arguello, like Mexicans Emanuel Navarette and Rey Vargas today, was essentially a deadly boxer-puncher who most of the times used his height and reach to advantage especially against equally murderous ring adversaries in the late 70s through the mid 80s. So Figueroa is unique in this regard though obviously he is not as powerful a hitter as Arguello or say; Navarette as he usually troubles and overwhelms his opponents with voluminous punching and incessant pressure from the get go until they fall or victory is reached in the final bell. What makes him different also is his seemingly boundless energy and stamina and being impervious to punches and physical punishments. So, the question is how to deal with a fighter like Figueroa? The annals of recent boxing history may give us pointers. In the late 70s through the mid 80s, the period Arguello reigned, the best most feared volume punching pressure fighter was Puerto Rico's Wilfredo Gomez especially in the super bantamweight or junior featherweight. Before Manny Pacquiao dominated in the early 2000s, it was Bazooka Gomez who legitimized the then newly created 122 lbs division. His list of KO title victims included notable names as Carlos Zarate and Lupe Pintor, incidentally both knockout specialists especially Zarate who at one time was the acknowledged KO king. Gomez's style of fighting was likened by some observers as like that of a demolition expert laying dynamites after dynamited and exploding them systematically round after round until the opposition crumble in a heap on the canvas. No one could stand against him at 122 lbs and soon he outgrew the division with record title defenses under his belt and he decided it was time for him to invade the featherweights. Reigning as featherweight champions at that time were Mexico's Salvador Sanchez who held the more prestigious WBC green and gold belt and Panamanian Eusebio Pedroza who was the titleholder with the WBA. Gomez of course chose to challenge Sanchez for the WBC crown. He thought his volume punching and relentless pressure would be enough to defeat the Mexican who was essentially a boxer counterpuncher. Their bout was aptly titled The Battle of the Little Giants. As per Wikipedia account, their super fight went as follows: "The Battle of Little Giants Fought on August 21, 1981, at the Caesars Palace Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, it pitted Gómez, a Puerto Rican who had a record of 32 wins, 0 losses, 1 draw, and all his wins by knockout, and who was the world's Jr. Featherweight champion, against the lesser known Sánchez, who hailed from Mexico with a record of 40 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw. Sanchez was defending his WBC world Featherweight crown. Gómez was the strong favorite at the betting windows due to his knockout win streak of 32 fights in a row and Sánchez's relative obscurity. During the build-up to the fight, Gomez talked often of his intention to score an early knockout over Sanchez and the betting public seemed to be in agreement. The fight was broadcast on closed-circuit television to all of the United States and through many Latin American countries. Sánchez began by surprising most fans and dropping Gómez 40 seconds into round one. Gómez got up but was battered around the ring by Sanchez for the remainder of the round, nearly going down again from an overhand right in Wilfredo's own corner. Gomez began to recover in round three and had his moments over the next three rounds, continually going forward and throwing combinations in an effort to turn the fight. However, Gómez's right eye started to swell by the third round and was nearly closed by the seventh. Sánchez started zeroing into that area and landed a number of hard punches that repeatedly rocked Gomez. In the seventh round, Gomez finally landed the combination he wanted, a right-left to the chin that partially lifted Sanchez off his feet; however, he was able to shake off the effects and move away from the corner without further trouble. Round eight proved to be the final round. With Gómez almost blinded by his swollen eyes and the Mexican partisans shouting "Ole!" with every volley of punches, Sánchez landed a straight right hand that had Gomez teetering and badly hurt on the ropes, followed by a series of punches that almost sent Gómez off the ring. Although Gómez was able to beat the count, referee Carlos Padilla stepped in and stopped the fight, giving Sánchez an eighth-round technical knockout (TKO) win. In Mexico, a new legend was born. Sánchez had, in their eyes, avenged the loss that Gómez had inflicted to Carlos Zarate some years before. He became recognized by many Mexicans and international fans as Mexico's greatest world champion ever, but that moment of glory was short lived, because almost a year after his fight with Gómez, on August 12, 1982, Sánchez was killed in a car accident." To this day, Sanchez is remembered as the master boxer who tamed and knocked out one of boxing's greatest volume punching pressure fighter. The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.  |
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