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Michael Marley Big Fight Vegas Boxing Blog |
Golden Boy Matchmaker Gomez
'Lets The Chips Fall Where They May' But
'Too Close To Call' Turned Into 'Too Dull To
Watch'; And More Scintillating Notes On A Snorecard
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LAS
VEGAS -- I was going to write a blog completely about Golden Boy Productions matchmaker Eric Gomez. He did, I thought deserve same, going into Saturday
night's big PPPV show at the MGM Grand.
Eric, who is only 33, is certainly one of
boxing's top matchmakers. I'd put he and
Sean "X Man" Gibbsons at the top of any list of great young boxing matchmakers. |
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Their talents may differ in that Gomez, working with Golden
Bay's golden bank account, is able to make great matches between champions or between champions and top contenders. Gibbons, who is former world champ Sean
O'Grady, has a specialized skill in building up prospects such as Jorge Paez Jr.
Having said all that, let me tell you that in kidnergarten, while scrambling around the sand box in East LA, Gomez bumped knees with some kid named Oscar de la Hoya. Theirs is a lifelong friendship which has been mutually beneficial for both of them.
Now, Marley/FNN can reveal yet another international and intergalactic exclusive about
Gomez's former career.
Before there was a Golden Boy Promotions, the true rising superstar of the boxing promotional business, it can be truly said that Gomez, who I genuinely like and more importantly respect, was a nacho, nacho man.
In his prior career, it may also be said that Gomez, just like he does in boxing now, let the chips fall where they may.
Further, it can be honestly said that in his prior vocation, Gomez encountered just as many dips as he does in the disorganized brain damage business a/ka/ professional boxing.
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No matter what happened in his first job, it can also be said, that Young Eric kept on trucking.
In boxing, it might be said that Gomez has built up some GBP prospects with tomato can opponents. In his old job, he dealt more often with potato cans.
Ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom.
The midnight show is now over. But I have one more truthful line about Gomez's initial career and vocation. |
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Before his buddy, OLDH brought him into the GBP fold and hired Pugilstic Professors Emeritus Don Chargin and Rafael "Guadalajara Godfather" Mendoza to tutor him, you could say that Gomez was indeed a chip off the old block.
I hear you groaning. I won't say that Gomez worked on a cool ranch. But I can say that switching to boxing and going to work for his kidnergarten pal was a Wise decision.
So, with all the puns used up, I can now reveal that Gomez drove a Frito Lay delivery truck around Los Angeles. Which places him on good company with the late, lamented GMOAT (Greatest Matchmaker Of All Time) Teddy Brenner. Poison boxing pen Ben Greene always used to claim Brenner dorve a laundry truck delivering shirts before he got into boxing or maybe it was vice versa. It gets late early here in Vegas, folks.
As it turned out, Gomez made three great matches here and only one turned out to be a boxing entree. That was the title bout in which Israel Vazquez rallied to stop Jhonny Gonzalez.
Through no fault of redoubtable young matchmaker Gomez the Joan Guzman-Jorge Barrios bout was a pedestrian match won by Guzman. Btw, Guzman slowed down in the later going due to a shoulder, not a hand injury.
As for Marco Antonio Barrera's ho-hum unanimous victory over Rocky "I Don't Know What Cutting The Ring Off Means" Juarez, the less said the better. I have never heard a respected Mexican world boxing champion booed so badly as MAB was. But the old dog used his old tricks to befuddle the one-dimensional Juarez.
Juarez said, if he won, he would his world title belt over to his 95-year-old grandfather, Pedro Juarez, at ringside. Maybe Rocky can find some world title suspenders because his dismal showing (117-111 on the Marley/FNN scorecard) left the grandfather in the lurch.
I've got to go meet Paris H. for some disco reverie which reminds me of the joke about the difference between Paris Hilton and the Hilton Hotels chain....the hotel chain have been entered by far fewer men or something like that. But start with good taste now? In case you
didn't notice with Paez getting off the canvas to win, Izzzy getting busy to stop JG and Guzman nipping Barrios, the boxing High Rollers from Sycuan went 3-0. Again...
Later today, as per custom, I will slice and dice, inspect and dissect the Winners and Losers from what should have been a boxing
fans' banquet in LV.
For the fact that it was a great stylistic disappointment, you point the gloves at the
fighters not named Vazquez and Gonzalez.
But you can hardly blame Chef Eric Gomez. He was cooking with gas in the
matchmaker's kitchen and now, I promise, no more potato chip puns or jokes. But there used to be a dancer at the Olympic Gardens, Jim "Catfish" Hunter says, who did use the stage name of Frito Lay. Even in his bachelor days, Hunter could never figure the translation of this topless
artist's show biz moniker...
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