Alfonso Gomez: “I’ve been an underdog all my life”
By Ace Freeman (06-Apr-2008)

FightFan.com caught up with welterweight title contender Alfonso Gomez who is deep in last minute preparation for the biggest fight of his life vs. WBA champion Miguel Cotto. LISTEN to what the former contender star is thinking as he prepares for war, only on FightFan.com!

FF: Alfonso, talk about Miguel Cotto. What do you think of him as a fighter and what do you expect him to bring to the ring?

AG: We know he will bring a lot of pressure. He’s a fighter who trains well. He doesn’t get tired as the rounds go on and his stamina seems to increase. He’s a fighter who’s well prepared and his style is very powerful. He’s definitely a champion for a reason. I am training very hard in the gym to expose his weaknesses and hopefully I can do just that Saturday.

FF: Tell the fans out there why you believe you will beat him.

AG: I’ve been the underdog before and have proved everybody wrong. This is just another one of those situations for me. I am training very hard in the gym. My stamina is increasing and my mentality is much better. I think I have all the qualities to win this fight.

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FF: Alfonso Gomez, thanks for taking the time.

AG: My pleasure.

FF: Do you prefer us to say Contender alumni Alfonso Gomez or welterweight title contender Alfonso Gomez? Which sounds better to you?

AG: Welterweight title contender!

FF: Speaking of title contention, April 12 you’re going to be fighting one of the hottest fighters in boxing in Miguel Cotto for the WBA welterweight title. Any pressure there?

AG: Well yeah, there’s definitely pressure because it will be the biggest stage I’ve ever fought on, but we’re just getting ready for this the only way we can and that’s in the gym.

FF: Tell us how you’re approaching this fight. Obviously Cotto is a heavy betting favourite and a majority of fans and media have you a heavy underdog. What are your thoughts on that as you approach this fight?

AG: I’m definitely an underdog in the fight but I’ve been an underdog all my life so I’m approaching this fight the same way I do any fight. I’m training very hard for it and we’re trying to come up with a good game plan. We’re trying to make sure we come out victorious by putting together a good strategy and putting in the work in the gym.

FF: If we look back for a moment to 2004/05 you were a young, relatively unknown fighter who really captured a lot of public interest on The Contender. Can you talk a bit about that experience and, more importantly, what you learned through the experience of both the show and the fights that came with it?

AG: It was definitely the best experience of my life. I’m now recognized all over the world, more specifically the boxing world, because of the show. The boxing world is where I make my profession and I can honestly say that (my experience on the show) is why I got the fight with Arturo Gatti and why I’m fighting Miguel Cotto now. The popularity the show gave me has created a huge fan base and there is a lot of support.

FF: Do you feel the show and the overall experience has helped you prepare and deal with the pressure that comes with these much bigger and more important marquee and title fights?

AG: It definitely did. Having the cameras there and all the celebrities and then in the finale the thousands of screaming fans got me prepared for bigger atmosphere fights like this one coming up. Another thing is that on The Contender I was fighting in a higher weight division like middleweight, fighting even bigger guys like super middleweights. That really helped me to prepare for fights like the one I had against Arturo Gatti, who at that time felt a lot smaller than my previous opponents. I’m hoping that will be the case with Miguel Cotto too.

FF: I’m sure when it was happening you had to think that someday that would open doors for you and now here you are on the verge of a very important world title fight. How do you feel about that, and has it sunk in that you’re fighting for a world title yet?

AG: It has sunk in; I’ve been ready for this all my life. I’ve been wanting this all my life and now that it’s here it seems real because I’ve always imagined it this way.

FF: Can you tell me where you think your progress is at as a fighter? I think that after The Contender, a lot of people had you similarly pegged to go in and lose to Arturo Gatti. Now Gatti may be a faded fighter, but you didn’t just beat him, you out-classed him. Do you think that was a good step in establishing yourself as a legitimate top echelon welterweight?

AG: It was a big stepping stone for me because nobody gave me a chance in that fight going in. I proved a lot of people wrong. Gatti was getting up there in age, but one thing we have to remember about my upcoming fight here is that Miguel Cotto is nowhere near retirement. This is a special opportunity for me to prove to everybody that I am the real deal and I am ready to do that.

FF: Alfonso, talk about Miguel Cotto. What do you think of him as a fighter and what do you expect him to bring to the ring?

AG: We know he will bring a lot of pressure. He’s a fighter who trains well. He doesn’t get tired as the rounds go on and his stamina seems to increase. He’s a fighter who’s well prepared and his style is very powerful. He’s definitely a champion for a reason. I am training very hard in the gym to expose his weaknesses and hopefully I can do just that on April 12.

FF: Tell the fans out there why you believe you will beat him.

AG: I’ve been the underdog before and have proved everybody wrong. This is just another one of those situations for me. I am training very hard in the gym. My stamina is increasing and my mentality is much better. I think I have all the qualities to win this fight.

FF: One thing I wanted to ask you about in regards to this matchup is size. Cotto is considered a big welterweight now that he’s grown into it and a very strong one. But I recall not too long ago a guy named Gomez fighting middleweights and super middleweights. Do you feel your experience with those bigger fighters will be good preparation for Cotto’s size and strength?

AG: Yeah, hopefully. I didn’t know what to expect fighting Arturo Gatti and he did end up feeling smaller and his punches didn’t feel as hard as the super middleweights I’ve fought like Peter Manfredo. Coming in to this fight with Miguel Cotto, maybe that will be the case and maybe not. There’s no way of knowing until we’re in there. But if not we have a plan for it. If our power and strength is equal we have a plan for that too.

FF: You’re listed as being two inches taller than Cotto, with a two-inch reach advantage. Do you feel you may be the bigger man in the ring?

AG: Well I did see him in New York at the press conference weeks back…

FF: And how did you feel you sized up to him when you two were standing next to each other and facing off?

AG: I did feel bigger and taller than him, but let’s not forget that Shane Mosley was also taller than him and just as he’s done with other opponents he was able to neutralize that advantage by fighting on the inside. I like to fight on the inside too and am a good inside fighter. I want to see how that plays out when he sees how strong I am on the inside. Maybe he’ll back up, maybe he’ll come in. We don’t know how it will play out on fight night.

FF: You looked great in your last two fights which were both impressive, stopping Gatti and out-pointing Ben Tackie. How are you feeling at welterweight now?

AG: Yes, I feel great at welterweight now. This is my natural weight and the only reason I was fighting at middleweight was because of The Contender series. The opportunity to have my face seen all around the world on T.V., and of course the chance at a million dollars was the reason I did that. But welterweight is my weight class.

FF: What has your training camp been like? Are you doing anything differently to prepare for Cotto?

AG: We have included a conditioning coach getting my legs prepared to go a full 12 rounds. I have never been 12 rounds so we included conditioning training and the sparring has been going well too. We’ve been sparring guys similar to Cotto, bigger in size too.

FF: Who have you been sparring with?

AG: Alfredo Angulo, who is a light middleweight, Vardan Gasparyan, who is also a light middleweight; both strong guys and pressure fighters who have given me very good sparring.

FF: Having been in a similar situation vs. Gatti, can you talk about the underdog role and what that’s like mentally approaching such a big fight?

AG: I try not to let any of that get in my head. I just do my work in the gym and when I get to the fight I just do my job. Aside from that I try not to think about who’s favoured or who’s the underdog because it just adds more pressure.

FF: Is there anything else you’d like to say to the FightFans in closing?

AG: Not really, just to thank everyone for all the support. I’d also like to thank my sponsors for their help in preparing for this fight. If anyone wants to keep tabs on what I’m doing they can check out my website at www.alfonsoSgomez.com.

FF: Alfonso, thanks for taking the time man, best of luck and health leading up to the fight.

AG: Thank you, my pleasure.

 

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