Antonio Gomez (born 30 September 1944) is a Venezuelan former professional boxer who fought in the

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, t ...

division. He won the WBA world featherweight title in 1971.

Professional career

Gomez made his professional debut on 28 February 1967 against Eduardo Blanco in Caracas. After scoring a knockout over Blanco, Gomez won six fights, all in Caracas, before Domingo Bastidas became the first man to beat him—scoring a third round knockout in their 2 September 1967 contest. Gomez managed a run of eleven victories before losing to Gustavo Briceno, for his second defeat, on 4 November 1968. On 10 November 1969 Gomez defeated future Light Welterweight world champion

Antonio Cervantes Antonio Cervantes (born December 23, 1945) is a Colombian boxing trainer and former professional boxer who competed from 1961 to 1983. He held the WBA and ''The Ring'' light welterweight title twice between 1972 and 1980. In 2002, Cervantes ...

. Gomez fought for the first time outside of Venezuela on 12 February 1970, when he travelled to Inglewood, California, to beat Gil Noriega by an eighth round knockout. It was in Inglewood, on 5 September 1970, that Gomez won his first title, as he beat Fernando Sotelo for the NABF featherweight title. Gomez won four more fights, one in Mexico and three in Venezuela, before making his first world title challenge. On 2 September 1971 Gomez travelled to Tokyo to successfully challenge the Japanese WBA world featherweight champion

Shozo Saijo is a Japanese former professional boxer from Saitama. He is a former WBA featherweight champion. Biography Saijo made his professional debut in August, 1964, but did not show immediate promise in the ring, losing or drawing against several ...

. Gomez knocked Saijo down three times in the fifth round before the referee called a halt to the action. Following this fight Gomez won a non-title bout over future

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight ...

champion Esteban De Jesus before losing a disputed decision to Raul Martinez Mora—also in a non-title fight. The rematch between Gomez and Mora occurred on 5 February 1972—this time for the WBA title. Gomez knocked Mora down twice in the third round before ending the fight with a seventh round knockout to retain his title. In the next defence of his title Gomez fought the Panamanian challenger

Ernesto Marcel Ernesto Marcel (23 May 1948 – 29 June 2020) was a Panamanian professional boxer who competed from 1966 to 1974. He held the WBA featherweight title from 1972 to 1974 and challenged for the WBC featherweight title in 1971. Career Making his ...

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. Gomez finished the fight with a bloody face as he lost his title to Marcel by a majority decision. Gomez fought to a draw with Hyun Kim before travelling to

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

to face Marcel in a rematch for the WBA title. Marcel, watched by 15,000 fans, dominated the fight and Gomez suffered so much punishment that he was unable to continue for the twelfth round. Gomez fought six more times before his final professional fight on 1 November 1975—when he fought to a draw with Miguel Betruz.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Antonio Featherweight boxers World Boxing Association champions 1945 births Living people Venezuelan male boxers Sportspeople from Cumaná 20th-century Venezuelan people