By Ian S Palmer
The Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California will be the site of the Alfonso Gomez vs Yoshihiro Kamegai bout this Friday, March 20. The 10-round welterweight bout can be seen live in the U.S. on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports Deportes. Gomez of Guadalajara, Mexico will be entering the ring with a record of 24-6-2 with 12 Kos while Kamegai is 25-2-1 with 22 Kos to his name. Gomez is best known for appearing on The Contender TV show over a decade ago and while he isn’t blessed with the greatest boxing skills he possesses the heart of a lion.
The 34-year-old Gomez has been a durable welterweight over the years and has wins over good boxers such as Jesus Soto-Karass, former world champion Jose Luis Castillo, Carson Jones and Ben Tackie. He also managed to stop former world champion Arturo Gatti back in 2007. However, he’s been beaten by other world-class fighters such as Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez, who booth stopped him, as well as losing a 10-round decision to Shawn Porter.
The biggest problem Gomez faces is his lack of power. He has good head movement and footwork as well as a decent chin even though he’s been on the deck several times during his career. Gomez would rather box from the outside although he isn’t afraid to mix it up on the inside if he has to. His last outing was in July when he beat Ed Paredes by a unanimous decision. Gomez turned pro in 2001 and has 173 rounds under his belt since then.
The 32-year-old Kamegai of Japan stopped Oscar Godoy in the fourth round in his last bout and prior to that he made a name for himself in a slugfest against Robert Guerrero when he dropped a 12-round decision in one of the most exciting fights of the year. Kamegai has an excellent chin and also has quite a bit of power in his fists as can be seen by his knockout percentage of 78.6.
Kamegai keeps his guard high and puts a lot of mustard on each and every punch. He’s a fan favourite because of his style and power and like Gomez, has a huge heart. This means there could be plenty of action in this bout as well as a knockdown or two along the way. Kamegai has fought 153 rounds since turning pro back in 2005 and his other loss was a 10-round unanimous decision to Johan Perez in 2013. He stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 71-inch reach while Gomez is the same height with a 69-inch wingspan.
Prediction
The two fighters have agreed to a weight limit of no more than 150 lbs for this fight. It has the potential to be one of the best bouts of the year, but it could also end quite early if Kamegai catches Gomez. The Mexican is definitely an underrated fighter and he’s been in against some top-class opponents, but he wars have likely taken their toll on him. Gomez will give it everything he has, but somewhere along the line Kamegai should be able to wear him down and stop him or at least do enough damage to take a decision.
