GOMEZ LAUGHS OFF REPORT THAT DE LA HOYA WAS BEATEN UP IN SPARRING
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 27 Oct 2008
Golden Boy Promotions vice president and international matchmaker Eric Gomez, in an overseas telephone conversation with www.insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports half seriously said if Victor ?Vicious? Ortiz (22-1-1, 17 KO?s) beat-up Oscar De La Hoya in sparring recently then ?that?s good news for Manny.?
Gomez revealed that De La Hoya only ?just started sparring but is feeling very good and everything is fine.?
However, without admitting anything, Gomez pointed out that ?there are certain fighters that don?t look good in training only go through the motions but when it comes to fight time they end up doing really well. That is kind of like the way Oscar is. Sometimes in the gym he looks good but there are times if he?s feeling tired, his body is tired from all the work,.he doesn?t perform like other days but when it comes to fight time he?s ready to fight.?
Gomez, a boyhood friend who grew up with De La Hoya in the same East Los Angeles neighborhood recalled a personal story. He said when De La Hoya was getting ready for a fight maybe for Hopkins, ? he had a kid he was sparring with. One day he got the better of Oscar. He really took it to Oscar and he got the better of him that day.?
Gomez said the kid, whose name escaped him ?went around Los Angeles and started bragging that he got the better of Oscar and that Oscar was finished.? He said that when they mentioned it to him, Oscar said ?I?ll teach him a lesson.? Gomez recalled that ?the next time the guy went up there (Big Bear training camp? they sparred. He was only able to do two rounds of sparring because Oscar beat him so badly to the body that he didn?t want any more.?
He noted that for all fighters ?some days are better than others? even as he mentioned ?We?ve heard so many stories about guys beating up Manny.?
Gomez also wondered why Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said trainer Ignacio ?Nacho? Beristain is bad for De La Hoya. Gomez said De La Hoya ?really likes Nacho. I don?t know why arum said that. Oscar has been in boxing for 30 years since he was 5 years old. You really can?t change his style ? nobody can do that but you try to add and refine it. Just fine tune so he?ll be in shape to go 12 rounds.
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