FightHype.com caught up with welterweight contender Alfonso Gomez to discuss his recent win over Ben Tackie, his future plans and more. You don't want to miss what he had to say as he discusses a potential March 28th fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and shares his thoughts on other upcoming welterweight fights like Cotto-Mosley and Mayweather-Hatton. Check it out!
AC: I heard you broke your hand in the 2nd round of the Ben Tackie fight. Tell us what happened.
AG: Well in the 2nd round, I broke my hand throwing some combinations. I already saw it on tape and it was throwing an uppercut then a right hand and then another uppercut. On the first uppercut, I hurt it and then I threw the right hand and on the second uppercut, the pain really started coming. We went to the doctor and they said we broke the metacarpal which is the knuckle on my left hand; the index finger.
AC: It turned out to be a bit of a tough outing for you. I know we'd spoken prior to your fight with Tackie and you'd told me you wanted to make a statement and knock him out. Do you feel if you hadn't broken your hand that you would've got him out of there?
AG: Maybe. You know, this guy definitely has a hard head and he can take a punch. I believe even though I broke my hand that I was throwing hard punches and he took them well. Every time I threw the uppercut and left hook to the body, it hurt, but I had to keep going with it and so I did. It definitely didn't hurt as much during the fight as it did after.
AC: What grade would you give your performance?
AG: I give myself maybe an A-. I think I did well with the disability I had because I kept on throwing punches and still did my gameplan. I mean, I think there's still room for improvement. We're working on a lot of things and hopefully these fights make me better. We knew this guy could take a punch and that it could possibly go ten rounds, which is good because I want to start stepping up to the bigger names and those guys can take a punch and go 12 rounds and I want to be able to do that. This is the first time I went 10 rounds so I feel pretty good. Like I said, there's always room for improvement so there's always room to get more conditioning and working on other things. This is my first 10 round fight against a veteran, a guy who keeps the pressure and never stops, so I think I did good.
AC: Alright, now you got this fight over with and there's been a lot of talk of you facing Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Is that going to be your next fight?
AG: Well it's a possibility against Chavez Jr. When it started to get mentioned, I guess people started to talk about it a lot. There's a lot of interest in the fight because we're both prospects and both want to move on to bigger fights and bigger events so it gives us both the opportunity to show where we're at and who actually deserves to be in the limelight.
AC: Is that the fight that you want next, Julio Caesar Chavez Jr.?
AG: Yes. I think it's a good move for both of us to step up, you know, to see where I'm at and show everybody that I'm getting better as the fights go on; as time goes on. And as time progresses, I'm working harder in the gym and I'm taking this more seriously and it's time for him to also prove himself. A lot of people have said he hasn't fought anybody and I don't want to say that I'm somebody, but I think I'm a good step up for him to show where he's at also.
AC: How long has the doctor given you before you're able to get back to training?
AG: I have surgery tomorrow with the doctor that operated on Oscar De La Hoya. His name is Dr. Zemel, but anyway, he said that after 10 days after the surgery to go back in so he could see how the surgery went and see if they have to go back in there and fix a few things. I'll be in the cast for 3 weeks and then after that, I'll go through therapy so in about 2 months, I should be good so I feel that gives me plenty of time.
AC: When do you want to see that fight happen?
AG: Actually, from what I heard, it's already set for March 28th I think. That's only what I've heard, which I don't know if that's true or not. I want to make sure that my hand is 100% even if we have to fight after March. I hope that's when my hand should be 100% because I know the fighters that are coming up are coming even stronger than the last two and I have to be 100% for those fights.
AC: Now on the undercard of your fight, Sergio Mora fought Elvin Ayala to a draw. What were your thoughts on that fight and where do you think Sergio goes from here?
AG: Well I haven't had the opportunity to watch his fight and I've just heard comments. What I can tell you is that when he came back to the locker room, he was pretty upset. Not because of the decision, but because he was more upset with himself because he actually walked in and said, "now I know what it feels like to have a 14-month layoff." He knew that his condition and strength were there, but his timing was off. I think he learned a lesson in that fight; that he needs to be active. I learned that lesson too when I was inactive for so long. You kind of feel the rust. I think it's only going to make him better and be more active. Like I said, I can't comment on the fight because I haven't seen it, but I'm sure he learned a lesson to be more active.
AC: Well quickly, there's some big fights coming up in your weight class, one being with Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley. How do you see that fight going?
AG: Well I really kinda want Miguel Cotto to win because I'm looking forward to fighting him next year hopefully. I feel that fight can build interest because of the Mexican and Puerto Rican kind of rivalry that's been going on for many years, like De La Hoya vs Trinidad and Chavez vs. Camacho. Shane Mosley is definitely a veteran and I've never seen him not be composed in the ring. He always knows what he's doing and follows his gameplan. Miguel Cotto is the type of fighter that tries to wear you down and get you to throw your gameplan out the window, but I don't see Mosley folding in this fight so I'm kinda leaning towards Mosley.
AC: We know that Floyd Mayweather is fighting Ricky Hatton and being that Floyd is no longer on Dancing with the Stars, that shouldn't play much of a distraction anymore. How do you see that fight?
AG: Well I think that Mayweather has been in with people who try and pressure him and he's able to slip the punches pretty well, but I don't think that Ricky Hatton is going to allow him to throw his gameplan out of the window. I kinda see Hatton winning this fight and people look at me weird when I say that (laughing), but I saw what happened with Castillo in their fights. The first one I thought Castillo won and the second one was definitely close so I think that kind of pressure might hurt Mayweather in this fight and we know that Ricky Hatton is nothing but a pressure fighter. He just pushes you and pushes you so I think he might take it. It's going to be interesting, but I think it's going to be the biggest fight of the year.
AC: Well you're the first fighter that I've talked to who has picked Hatton to win that fight, but that's cool. I see where you're coming from. Well Alfonso, I greatly appreciate your time today. Is there anything you'd like to say to the fans in closing?
AG: Yeah, I just want to thank them for their support. It's always valuable when they're cheering my name when I'm walking down the ring and when I'm in the fight so I definitely want to thank them and encourage them to visit my site at AlfonsoSGomez.com.