WBU World Title
In March 2004, Gomez fought Ghanaian Ben Odamattey for the WBU 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 and Leva Kirakosyan with knockout wins. Gomez then faced Argentinian 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 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 stopped the fight after 2 minutes 25 seconds of the round with Gomez pinned to the ropes and taking significant punishment.
Read more about this topic: Michael Gomez
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