Michael Gomez (born Michael Armstrong; 21 June 1977) is a former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1995 to 2009. He was born to an

Irish Traveller Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

family in

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

, Ireland, spending his early years in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

before moving to London and later

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England, with his family at the age of nine. In boxing he was affectionately known as "The Predator", "The Irish Mexican" and "The Mancunian Mexican". Despite finishing his career fighting in the

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 boxe ...

division, Gomez is more notable for his fights at

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, this ...

and

super-featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the New Yo ...

. During his career he amassed a number of regional championships, most significantly the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

title twice, from 1999 to 2004. He also held the

WBU The World Boxing Union (WBU) was a boxing sanctioning body. The original WBU was founded in January 1995 by IBF European representative, boxing journalist, actor and former holder of the title of Britain's heaviest man Jon W. Robinson. It sa ...

super featherweight title from 2004 to 2005. Gomez, who has been compared to

Johnny Tapia John Lee Anthony Tapia (February 13, 1967 – May 27, 2012) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2011. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the unified IBF and WBO super flyweight title ...

, has lived a turbulent life and was often involved in controversial fights. In Gomez's initial matches he suffered a number of losses to

journeyman A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...

opposition but then went on a run of victories which stretched for almost four years. Of his 17 fights between February 2001 and March 2008, 16 ended in

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

s. Concerns arose about his drinking and failure to adhere to his

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

and

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

regimes after a loss to

László Bognár László Bognár (born February 24, 1968) is a Hungarian former professional boxer who fought in the featherweight to light welterweight divisions. As an amateur he represented his native country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. ...

in 2001. Gomez appeared to be "back on track" in 2003, with his high-profile fight against

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

-based fighter

Alex Arthur Alex Arthur, (born 26 June 1978) is a Scottish former professional boxer and political candidate for the Alba Party. Competing from 2000 to 2012, he held the WBO and WBO interim super featherweight titles in 2007. At regional level, he he ...

for the British and WBA Inter-Continental super-featherweight titles, which Gomez won by knocking out Arthur in the fifth round. In 2006, Gomez suffered a controversial loss to

Peter McDonagh Peter McDonagh (born 22 December 1977) is an Irish professional boxer. Controversial Irish title fight against Michael Gomez McDonagh fought Michael Gomez on 28 January 2006 for the Irish lightweight title on the undercard of a Bernard Dunne ...

when, in the middle of a round, he dropped his guard and walked out of the ring, later saying he had retired from boxing. He returned to the ring after a 15-month interval. On 21 June 2008, Gomez lost what was seen as possibly his last bout: a

last chance saloon Last Chance Saloon was a popular name of a type of bar in the United States that began to appear in the 19th century as an early expression of border economics. Saloons situated near areas where alcohol was not easily obtainable frequently took ...

opportunity to resurrect his career against rising star and Olympic silver medallist Amir Khan. Although scoring a surprise knockdown against Khan early on, the fight ended with Gomez being stopped in five rounds. Gomez took the surname Gomez after his childhood hero

Wilfredo Gómez Wilfredo Gómez Rivera

Background

Michael Armstrong was born into an

Irish traveller Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

family in Longford, Ireland. His mother went into labour with him while driving, so his

partially sighted Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

father took over the wheel but crashed the car into a lamp post on the way to the hospital; Michael was delivered in the back seat. The Armstrong family moved to

Ballymun Ballymun () is an outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland, at the northern edge of the Northside, the green-field development of which began in the 1960s to accommodate a housing crisis in inner city areas of Dublin. While the newly built housing was ...

, Dublin, and, when Michael was age nine, to Manchester, England. Allan Stevenson - Gomez (1)

Following the family's move to England, Armstrong's father's eyesight failed further due to

retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision (side and upper or lower visual field). As peripheral vision worsens, people may ...

. By that time, there were ten children in the Armstrong family. After his younger sister, Louise, died from

sudden infant death syndrome Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden unexplained death of a child of less than one year of age. Diagnosis requires that the death remain unexplained even after a thorough autopsy and detailed death scene investigation. SIDS usuall ...

, his mother left the family to live with another woman. Armstrong subsequently spent much of his youth in various children's homes, and was a serial

truant Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorised, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will (though sometimes adults or parents will allow and/or ignore it) and usually does not ref ...

from school. His mother had taught him to

shoplift Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items ...

as a child, and he was involved in

petty crime A summary offence or petty offence is a violation in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded against summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment (required for an indictable offence). Canada In Canada, summary offenc ...

throughout his youth in Manchester. At nine years old, he began

at Brian Hughes' Collyhurst and Moston Boys' Club. He also played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

for a local North Manchester team until the club received so many fines for Armstrong's fighting on the pitch that they were unable to pay them. At this point, he stopped playing football to concentrate on his training in the ring. During his time in the children's home Armstrong met Alison, who has remained his companion (and later his wife) throughout his professional career; they were parents by the time Armstrong was 17.

Professional career

Early years

Armstrong boxed as an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

before turning professional in June 1995. He chose the professional surname "Gomez" when the

British Boxing Board of Control The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. History The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...

(BBBoC) required him to select another name at the time of his registration as a professional; there was another boxer in the same weight division using the name "Michael Armstrong". He chose his ring name in honour of Puerto Rican boxer

Wilfredo Gómez Wilfredo Gómez Rivera The name, combined with Gomez's " brawling style", earned him the nickname of "the Irish Mexican". He developed a ring persona based on this nickname, which has remained popular with fans throughout his career. His ring entrance music is that of a Mexican Mariachi band, a reference to his Hispanic-sounding chosen name, and many of his supporters wear

sombrero A sombrero (Spanish , ) is a type of wide-brimmed Mexican men's hat used to shield the face and eyes from the sun. It usually has a high pointed crown, an extra-wide brim (broad enough to cast a shadow over the head, neck and shoulders of the w ...

s to his fights and wave Irish flags. Gomez also wears long Mexican-style boxing shorts in the colours of the

flag of Ireland The national flag of Ireland ( ga, bratach na hÉireann), frequently referred to in Ireland as 'the tricolour' () and elsewhere as the Irish tricolour is a vertical tricolour of green (at the hoist), white and orange. The proportions of th ...

and often has the shape of a shamrock shaved into the hair on the back of his head. In his debut fight at the G-Mex Leisure Centre, Manchester, England, Gomez beat previously undefeated Danny Ruegg on the

undercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

of a

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

that included Robin Reid and

Michael Brodie Michael Brodie (born 10 May 1974 in Manchester, England) is a former professional boxer who fought in the Super Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions. Boxing career Brodie boxed as an amateur before turning professional in October 1994 ...

. Despite this initial win, Gomez's early career was littered with losses to journeyman fighters such as Greg Upton and Chris Williams. Allan Stevenson - Gomez (2)

In 1996, Gomez was charged with murder after a

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

fight outside a nightclub in Manchester. Gomez had hit one of his attackers, Sam Parle, who died after his head hit the pavement as a result of the blow. The charge was later reduced to

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

and Gomez was cleared after it was ruled that he had acted in

self-defence Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...

. After this shaky beginning in the professional ranks, Gomez had a run of victories from September 1997 to February 1999. During this period Gomez won seven straight fights before challenging for his first title belt, the vacant British Central Area featherweight title against Chris Jickells on 27 February 1999 in

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

. Gomez won the title with a fifth-round knockout. He followed his first title win by adding another championship, the

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

Inter-Continental featherweight title, with a second-round knockout over Nigel Leake.

Move to super-featherweight

Later that year, Gomez relinquished his championship belts in a bid to move up to the super featherweight division. His first fight in the division, in September 1999, was for the vacant British super featherweight title, against the experienced and much heralded

Liverpudlian Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

fighter Gary Thornhill. Gomez defeated Thornhill with a second-round knockout. In November 1999, Gomez faced off against Mexican Jose Manjarrez for the WBO Inter-Continental super featherweight title, walking away with the title based on the judges' scores after the full twelve rounds. In 1999, Gomez won four title belts, was undefeated during the year and was also named "Young Boxer of the Year" by the British Boxing Writers' Club. He continued his winning form into 2000 with another run of six wins, and successfully defended his British super featherweight title against

Dean Pithie Dean Pithie (born 18 January 1974) is a male British former professional boxer who fought in the super featherweight division. He is a former Commonwealth and WBO Inter-Continental super featherweight champion. Boxing career Hailing from Wil ...

, Carl Greaves and Ian McLeod.

Bognar and Lear fights

Gomez's first fight in 2001 was on 10 February against Hungarian boxer Laszlo Bognar for the WBO Inter-Continental super featherweight title, in

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

, Cheshire. Gomez had Bognar on the canvas in the fifth round, but Bognar recovered from this knockdown and used his southpaw jab to keep Gomez from closing in. In the ninth round referee Dave Paris stopped the fight following a double left from Bognar, which had Gomez stricken against the ropes. Gomez felt the fight had been stopped prematurely and that he should have been allowed to continue. Gomez later stated that he was suffering from

flu Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

and should not have taken the fight. The ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'' reported after the match that the pre-fight weigh-in and medical examination were not carried out in accordance with BBBC regulations: the volunteer inspector left before Bognar and Gomez had weighed in, and the medical examiner had not detected that Gomez was ill. Gomez sought a rematch against Bognar, and five months later in July 2001 the pair met again, this time in Manchester, resulting in a victory for Gomez. The fight started badly for Gomez when he suffered a flash knockdown in the first round and was down again in the second. Gomez came back to knock Bognar down near the end of the second round. Gomez came out firing at the start of the third round and finished the fight with a fourth and final knockdown to avenge his earlier defeat. He followed up his victory over Bognar with a second-round knockout of Scottish fighter Craig Docherty for another British super featherweight title win. His next opponent was unbeaten

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

-based fighter Kevin Lear on 1 June 2002, again in Manchester, on the undercard of the

Ricky Hatton Richard John Hatton (born 6 October 1978) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2012, and has since worked as a boxing promoter and trainer. During his boxing career he held multiple world championships at l ...

vs.

Eamonn Magee Eamonn Magee (born 13 July 1971) is a retired Irish professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2007, Retrieved 1 July 2016. becoming the World Boxing Union Welterweight Champion in 2007. He also held the Commonwealth light-welterweight tit ...

fight. Lear, a former Amateur Boxing Association of England (ABA) champion, kept a one-dimensional Gomez at bay with his sharp

jab A jab is a type of punch used in martial arts. Several variations of the jab exist, but every jab shares these characteristics: while in a fighting stance, the lead fist is thrown straight ahead and the arm is fully extended from the side of ...

from the outset of the fight. Gomez took several punches to the face, and his nose began to bleed heavily starting in the sixth round. By the eighth round Gomez was slowing, suffering the effects of Lear's continuing barrage of combinations. At the end of the eighth round Gomez's trainer Brian Hughes retired his fighter, giving Lear a surprise victory. The defeat to Lear, and the manner in which the fight ended, prompted Hughes, Gomez's longtime mentor and trainer, to ask Gomez to retire from boxing. This event signalled the end of the relationship between Gomez and Hughes; soon after, Gomez crossed Manchester to join Ricky Hatton and former Collyhurst gym stablemate Anthony Farnell at the rival Phoenix Gym run by Billy Graham. Gomez followed the defeat to Lear with a string of three wins, all by knockout. During the period between the first Bognar fight and the loss to Lear, Gomez's life spun out of control. He was "boozing, brawling and womanising", and was convicted of four drink-drive offenses. During a street fight, Gomez was stabbed and badly injured—his heart stopped beating for 148 seconds while on the operating table.

Alex Arthur fight

Following his change in trainer, Gomez was contracted for the highest profile fight of his career against

-based fighter "Amazing" Alex Arthur for the British and WBA Inter-Continental super featherweight titles. The fight took place in a sold-out

Meadowbank Stadium Meadowbank Stadium (officially the Meadowbank Sports Centre) is a multi-purpose sports facility located in the Meadowbank area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Built on the site of the earlier New Meadowbank and Old Meadowbank sports venues, it was or ...

in October 2003, in what was the first professional boxing card in Edinburgh in almost 20 years. Prior to the fight, Arthur had opined during interviews that "looking deep into Gomez's eyes at the press conference, I'm not sure even he believes he can win. He'll be so fired up I expect it'll take me eight or nine rounds but, if his resistance has gone as people are saying, it could be a lot sooner." With respect to his approach to the fight, Arthur added "I see about 20 ways to beat him. I'm just looking forward to shutting him up." Arthur, who was looking to retain the BBBofC Lonsdale Belt, was seen as a rising star in British boxing. He was a strong favourite to win the bout against Gomez, who was perceived to have been through too many battles and abused his body too much, and the fight was seen as a stepping stone on Arthur's way to a future world championship. However,

Freddie Roach Frederick Steven Roach (born March 5, 1960) is an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer. Roach is widely regarded as one of the best boxing trainers of all time. He is the enduring boxing coach of the eight-division world champio ...

, Arthur's trainer, was criticised when he remained in the United States to coach another boxer instead of continuing to work with Arthur to prepare for his championship match. Gomez proved his critics wrong when he arrived at the fight in prime condition and with aggression, determination and desire. The first two rounds started at a furious pace, with Arthur keeping Gomez at bay with stiff jabs and Gomez working inside with hooks and body punches. The match was turning into a clash of opposing styles, Arthur displaying control and boxing technique and Gomez storming forward with wild ferocity. From the third round the fight began to turn Gomez's way. Gomez cut Arthur in the third and silenced the home crowd, who were not used to seeing the home-town hero being battered in this manner. Gomez dominated the fourth round and was in full control of the fight—he exposed Arthur's weak defence and at one stage landed 28 punches without reply. Gomez knocked down his opponent twice before delivering a jarring left hook to Arthur, knocking Arthur to the canvas for the third time. Referee John Coyle stopped the fight, and Gomez won with the resulting TKO in the fifth round. The match was hailed as one of the best fights in Britain for a decade. Boxing promoter Frank Warren called the fight "the greatest contest seen on these shores since

Nigel Benn Nigel Gregory Benn (born 22 January 1964) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1987 to 1996. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO middleweight title in 1990 and the WBC super-middleweight ti ...

beat

Gerald McClellan Gerald Allen McClellan (born October 23, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 1995. He is a two-time middleweight world champion, having held the WBO title from 1991 to 1992, and the WBC title from 1993 to ...

in 1995". Retired Scottish boxer

Ken Buchanan Ken Buchanan Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 28 June 1945) is a Scottish retired professional boxer from Edinburgh and the former List of undisputed boxing champions, undisputed world lightweight champion.Reg Gutteridge, Gutteridge, Reg" ...

said it was one of the best fights he had ever seen. Gomez attended Arthur's next fight against Ugandan Michael Kizza in Meadowbank, Scotland, but Arthur did not appear when Gomez fought Ben Odamattey for the

super featherweight title in Manchester a few weeks later. Gomez pointed this out when being interviewed shortly afterward, adding "Sky Television want a return. Frank Warren, Arthur's manager, wants a re-match. And most of all so do I." Arthur responded by saying "the fight (with Gomez) is definitely going to happen. Hopefully I'll get another warm-up fight in June and then take on Gomez in September." Despite the rhetoric, the two fighters did not meet each other in the ring again.

WBU world title

In March 2004, Gomez fought Ghanaian Ben Odamattey for the

super featherweight title at the MEN Arena in Manchester, winning the championship by stopping Odamattey in the third round. He retained his WBU title in his next two fights against

Justin Juuko Justin "The Destroyer" Juuko (born 26 December 1972 in Masaka) is a Ugandan amateur light flyweight and professional boxer who was active between the 1990s and the 2010s. In 1990, he won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New ...

and Leva Kirakosyan with knockout wins. Gomez then faced

Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

boxer "El Vikingo" Javier Osvaldo Alvarez in February 2005, once again fighting at the MEN Arena in Manchester. WBO super middleweight title holder

Joe Calzaghe Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine ...

had been scheduled to top the bill but pulled out of his arranged fight, and Gomez and Alvarez were slotted as the main attraction. The pair clashed at the weigh in, and this antagonism carried into the ring; from the outset of the fight Gomez tried to draw Alvarez into a brawl. Gomez appeared to win the first two rounds behind stinging jabs, but Alvarez seemed unruffled. In the third round, Alvarez started to take control of the fight and landed several blows to Gomez's face. Gomez began quickly in the fourth round, attacking Alvarez from behind his jab and working his way through his opponent's defense. Alvarez appeared content to catch Gomez as he moved forward. Despite Gomez's strong start, Alvarez dazed Gomez with a stiff right hand shot in the fourth round, after which the Argentinian launched into a furious onslaught. Gomez steadied in the fifth but was visibly tired. Two minutes into the sixth round, Alvarez floored Gomez with a right hook. Gomez beat the count and Alvarez then moved in to continue his attack. Referee

Mickey Vann Michael Van Norman better known as Mickey Vann (born 29 December 1943 in London, England) is a former professional boxing, boxer and United Kingdom, British Referee (boxing), boxing referee. Vann was a 'Class A Star' referee and boxing judge.

stopped the fight after 2 minutes 25 seconds of the round with Gomez pinned to the ropes and taking significant punishment.

Peter McDonagh controversy

Gomez was out of the ring for almost a year following the Alvarez fight and was next due to fight

Willie Limond Willie Limond (born 2 February 1979) is a Scottish professional boxer. He held the EBU European Union super featherweight title in 2004, the Commonwealth lightweight title from 2006 to 2007, the Commonwealth super lightweight title from 2013 ...

for the WBU lightweight title, but turned down the opportunity for a chance to fight for an Irish title. Gomez then signed up to fight fellow English-based

Irishman The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been c ...

, for the Irish lightweight title on the undercard of a Bernard Dunne fight on 28 January 2006 at the National Stadium, Dublin. After the fight was signed Gomez stated "I just can't wait to get my hands on that Irish title because I've been desperate to fight in Ireland for years." Leading up to the fight McDonagh was making visits to see paranormalist

Uri Geller Uri Geller ( ; he, אורי גלר; born 20 December 1946) is an Israeli-British illusionist, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic. He is known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other i ...

as "mind coach" to help him prepare mentally for the fight, and Geller also travelled with him to Dublin for the fight. Gomez commented that "I'm not sure Uri Geller will be of much use to him though because there won't be any spoons in that ring for him to bend. The only thing I plan on bending is some of McDonagh's ribs with my body punches." The first four rounds were relatively close, with Gomez leading according to pundits, but the fight ended in the fifth round under bizarre circumstances when for no apparent reason Gomez stopped fighting and failed to defend himself. He then received a number of unanswered punches from McDonagh before being floored. Gomez rose from the canvas immediately but appeared to ignore the referee and walk towards his corner while the referee continued with his count. Gomez then left the ring as the referee was waving the fight off.

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

commentator

Steve Collins Stephen Collins (born 21 July 1964) is an Irish former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 1997. Known as the Celtic Warrior, Collins is the most successful male Irish boxer in recent professional boxing history, having held the WBO m ...

said "I smell a rat, something's not right here." The Boxing Union of Ireland (BUI) initially suspended both fighters' purses, and investigated reports of unusual betting patterns, with large sums of money being placed on McDonagh to win inside the distance and more specifically in the fifth round. Odds on McDonagh to win the fight in the fifth round had been cut from 125–1 to 18–1 by the afternoon of the bout. Following their investigation, the BUI released the purses to each of the fighters, stating "Michael Gomez and Peter McDonagh confirmed that neither they, their families, nor any person in their camp, as far as they were aware, betted on the fight." The BUI did express disappointment that the

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...

, Boylesports, who had suspended wagering on the bout due to the unusual betting patterns, had chosen not to reply to the investigators' queries. Gomez later explained the loss by saying that "it was all very simple, I just came to a decision in there that I need to retire from boxing full stop". Gomez further indicated that he planned to pursue a career in bodybuilding. McDonagh, meanwhile, claimed that he had won because of Gellar's assistance leading up to the bout. Gomez sought a second opportunity to fight McDonagh; in April 2007, he offered to fight for only his training costs. Finally, their rematch for the Irish lightweight title, to be billed as ''"Redemption"'', was set for 23 May 2008, but McDonagh pulled out of the scheduled bout.

Return to the ring

Gomez found himself once again drawn to boxing after watching a fight between Alex Arthur and

Carl Johanneson Carl Johanneson (born 1 August 1978) is a British former professional boxer. He held the British super featherweight title from 2006 to 2008. His nickname, "Ingemar" is a nod to the famous Swedish boxer Ingemar Johansson and is the nephew of fo ...

, and resumed training. In May 2007, fifteen months after his fight with McDonagh, he returned to the ring to face Daniel Thorpe at the Altrincham Leisure Centre, Manchester. Gomez had left the Phoenix Gym and was now training at Bobby Rimmers' Boxing Academy in Stalybridge, Manchester, and had returned to fight in the

super featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although firs ...

division. The fight was billed as ''"The Last Stand"'', and the venue was sold out with fellow fighters Ricky Hatton and his brother

Matthew Hatton Matthew James "Matty" Hatton (born 15 May 1981) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2013. He held the European welterweight title from 2010 to 2011, and challenged once for the WBC light-middleweight title in the l ...

cheering him on from ringside. Gomez won the fight with a stoppage in the third round. The following month Gomez also beat Youssef Al Hamidi, again with a third round stoppage. Following two comeback fights against journeyman opposition Gomez was rumoured to be in line for fights against many of Britain and Ireland's top level super featherweights and lightweights including Kevin Mitchell, Amir Khan, and Carl Johanneson; Gomez himself was seeking a rematch against Peter McDonagh. He then signed up to face Leeds's Johanneson on 19 October 2007 at the

Doncaster Dome The Dome Leisure Centre is an arena and leisure centre in Doncaster, England, commonly referred to as ''The Dome'' or ''Doncaster Dome''. It has a swimming complex, bars, a sports arena that is also used as an event venue and the United Kingdo ...

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

, England for the British super featherweight title. Johanneson had just come off his second defeat to Armenian Leva Kirakosyan, whom Gomez had knocked out in October 2004. Before the fight, Gomez was confident, stating "You can't outbox me. I'll jab your head off. If he comes to have a fight with me it is going to be early Christmas for everyone because I don't know who's going to go but someone's going to go and it's not going to be me." At the pre-fight press conference in

both fighters squared up to each other and promised to knock each other out; during the highly charged face off both fighters had to be kept apart by their promoter and trainers. As many expected, the highly anticipated domestic clash was a savage brawl from round one. Gomez won the opening rounds and threatened to overpower Johanneson from the opening seconds. The Leeds fighter then gained the upper hand as the fight went on, flooring Gomez in the sixth round only for the "Irish Mexican" to rise from the canvas. Soon after, with Gomez appearing unsteady on his feet, referee Mickey Vann stopped the fight. Gomez said that Vann had stopped the fight early, adding, "When the stoppage came, I wasn't wobbling or staggering, and I only dropped my hands in the fight to show Johanneson that he couldn't hurt me. But the referee simply got the wrong message. It was bad refereeing. I told him straight away I was fine, but he insisted on showing me to my corner." The former champion was clear that he wanted another opportunity to fight for the British title.

Amir Khan fight

Gomez fought Amir Khan for the Commonwealth lightweight title at the

National Indoor Arena Arena Birmingham (known for sponsorship reasons as Utilita Arena Birmingham, and previously as The Barclaycard Arena and originally as the National Indoor Arena) is an indoor arena and sporting venue in central Birmingham, United Kingdom. It ...

, Birmingham, on 21 June 2008, Gomez's thirty-first birthday. Khan said that "there is no way he will be as fit as me, so I expect a spectacular stoppage". Gomez did not attend the scheduled pre-fight press conference, prompting Khan to deride him, and promoter Frank Warren accused Gomez of failing to show respect to Khan and the media. During the fight Khan knocked Gomez to the canvas in the first round with a barrage of hooks and uppercuts. In the second round, Gomez caught Khan with a left hook, knocking down the younger fighter and exposing his defensive weakness; however, Khan steadied himself after the mandatory eight-count, and cut Gomez above the left eye before the round ended. Gomez caught Khan in the ribs with a left hook in the fourth round which left Khan unstable for a moment, but Khan responded with a flurry of hooks and jabs. Khan landed a "cracking left hook" in the fifth, but Gomez beat the count. At 2:32 of the fifth round, referee John Keane stopped the fight when Gomez was knocked into the ropes by a Khan left uppercut. After the fight, Khan said he felt he had moved up a level by "fighting world class fighters like Gomez." Before the fight, sports writers considered Gomez a tough opponent for Khan, with his "knockout punch" and his success against Alex Arthur in similar circumstances, despite having lost three of his last six fights. Gomez saw the fight as an opportunity to reignite his career; in an interview shortly before the fight he spoke of how " /nowiki>his fight really is my last chance to set myself up for life and become known in every household in Britain". At the same time, he reflected on the positive effects of his career in the ring, saying "Boxing kept my feet on the ground and gave me a focus. It's got me through the bad times and calmed me down. If it wasn't for boxing, I wouldn't have my beautiful wife and family". Gomez lives with his wife Alison and their three children in Manchester.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Michael 1977 births Living people British Boxing Board of Control champions Featherweight boxers Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom Irish male boxers Irish Traveller sportspeople Lightweight boxers Sportspeople from County Longford Sportspeople from Dublin (city) Boxers from Manchester Super-featherweight boxers 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people