Juan Carlos Gomez
Encyclopedia
Juan Carlos Gómez is a professional boxer. A former Cuban amateur star, he is also a former WBC
Cruserweight Champion and a devout Muslim
. He lives in and boxes out of Orlando, Florida
, USA.
"I didn't choose boxing," said Cuban defector Juan Carlos Gómez in a recent interview. "They chose it for me in Cuba. I wanted to become a baseball player. That was always my dream. But, you know, in Cuba you are not allowed to make your own decisions."
Defeated Jan Schwank (Germany) 9-4
Lost to Sven Ottke (Germany) 9-9
Defeated Antonio Tarver (USA) 10-10
Lost to Thomas Ulrich (Germany)12-16
On February 21, 1998, in Mar Del Plata, Argentina, Gómez won the WBC Cruiserweight title from reigning champion, Marcelo Fabian Dominguez via a unanimous decision
.
Nickname
d "Black Panther", Gómez ruled the cruiserweight division from 1998–2001, successfully defending his WBC
Cruiserweight Title ten times.
Among his notable defenses were those against Dominguez (rematch), Imamu Mayfield
and the smaller Jorge Castro
who was KOd for the first time. James Toney
declined a title shot when he was mandatory and later fought and beat Vassily Jirov.
He then vacated the title in February 2002 in order to move up to the Heavyweight ranks.
(another former Cruiserweight champ) by TKO 6. Gómez then moved back down to defend his title against Pietro Aurino
, and after defeating Aurino he moved up to heavyweight permanently.
Gómez has had some success at heavyweight, capturing wins over Sinan Samil Sam
and David Defiagbon
, but was shockingly TKO'd by fellow Cuban
Yanqui Diaz
in the first round in 2004.
Gómez defeated Don King promoted Oliver McCall
via a ten round decision on October 15, 2005, a result which was changed shortly thereafter to a no contest after Gomez failed a post-fight drug test due to a presence of cocaine. Gómez vehemently denied the charge and backed this up by producing a negative test where no drugs were found in his system, though this test was taken two months after the fight.
After that Gómez announced that he converted to Islam
. Gómez stated, '“After they stole my victory over Oliver McCall because of doping in October 2005 I was totally devastated. I swear that I never doped in my life. After the fight I went to the USA where I was built up by the Black Muslim
community. That's why I converted to Islam. I thank Allah
for giving me back my courage, energy and self esteem."' Gómez then returned to the ring on December 15, 2006 and on October 19 of 2007, once again outpointed Oliver McCall
winning the WBC International Heavyweight title in the process, then on September 27, 2008, at the Color Line Arena
in Hamburg, Germany, Gómez defeated Vladimir Virchis
to become the #1 contender for the WBC heavyweight title.
Gómez faced WBC Heavyweight titleholder Vitali Klitschko
on March 21 in Stuttgart, Germany. Early in the fight, Gomez managed to frustrate Klitschko by diverting a large number of jabs, but eventually Klitschko was able to establish control using his immense size and superior punching power. He was floored by a big right hand in round seven, but managed to get up. After a barrage of punches in round nine, the referee stopped the fight.
On March 27, 2010 Gómez made a successful comeback, defeating Alexey Mazikin to win the WBA
International Heavyweight title. He went on to defeat Alexander Kahl of Germany on April 9 in Hamburg to record his second victory in a fortnight.
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Cruserweight Champion and a devout Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
. He lives in and boxes out of Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, USA.
Early years and defection
He defected from Cuba during a stay in Germany."I didn't choose boxing," said Cuban defector Juan Carlos Gómez in a recent interview. "They chose it for me in Cuba. I wanted to become a baseball player. That was always my dream. But, you know, in Cuba you are not allowed to make your own decisions."
Amateur career
- Amateur Record: 158-12
- 1990 - Gold Medal World Junior Championships in Lima at 75 kg
- 1994 - Represented Cuba at the Chemistry Cup, his results were:
Defeated Jan Schwank (Germany) 9-4
Lost to Sven Ottke (Germany) 9-9
- 1994 - Competed at the USA Vs Cuba Cup in Ledyard, USA
Defeated Antonio Tarver (USA) 10-10
- 1995 - Represented Cuba at the Chemistry Cup, his results were:
Lost to Thomas Ulrich (Germany)12-16
Cruiserweight
The southpaw turned pro as a cruiser for Universum box promotions.On February 21, 1998, in Mar Del Plata, Argentina, Gómez won the WBC Cruiserweight title from reigning champion, Marcelo Fabian Dominguez via a unanimous decision
Unanimous decision
A unanimous decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which all three judges agree on which fighter won the match....
.
Nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
d "Black Panther", Gómez ruled the cruiserweight division from 1998–2001, successfully defending his WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Cruiserweight Title ten times.
Among his notable defenses were those against Dominguez (rematch), Imamu Mayfield
Imamu Mayfield
Imamu Amiri Mayfield is an American professional boxer.-Career:Mayfield turned pro in 1994 and was a popular local fighter known for being on boxing cards in various New Jersey venues. He won the IBF Cruiserweight Title with a win over Uriah Grant in 1997...
and the smaller Jorge Castro
Jorge Castro (boxer)
Jorge Fernando "Locomotora" Castro , is an Argentine boxer and former middleweight champion of the world, who is best known for his second defense of the title against John David Jackson in 1994....
who was KOd for the first time. James Toney
James Toney
James Nathanial Toney is an American professional boxer who has held world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, and cruiserweight divisions. Toney currently fights in the heavyweight division in boxing and also now competes in mixed martial arts.-Boxing career:Toney's amateur boxing...
declined a title shot when he was mandatory and later fought and beat Vassily Jirov.
He then vacated the title in February 2002 in order to move up to the Heavyweight ranks.
Heavyweight
In 2001 Gómez tested the waters in the heavyweight division and beaten durable veteran Al ColeAl Cole
Alfred "Ice" Cole is a heavyweight boxer.Cole was a champion and a major force in the cruiserweight division prior to moving up to the heavyweight division, where he had less success....
(another former Cruiserweight champ) by TKO 6. Gómez then moved back down to defend his title against Pietro Aurino
Pietro Aurino
Pietro Aurino is a retired male boxer from Italy. Nicknamed The Killer he represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was stopped in the second round of the men's light-heavyweight division by Kazakhstan's eventual gold medalist Vassili...
, and after defeating Aurino he moved up to heavyweight permanently.
Gómez has had some success at heavyweight, capturing wins over Sinan Samil Sam
Sinan Samil Sam
Sinan Şamil Sam is a German born Turkish heavyweight professional boxer. As a professional boxer, Sam won the EBU and WBC International titles in the heavyweight division.- Amateur career :...
and David Defiagbon
David Defiagbon
David Dejiro Defiagbon was a Nigerian boxer. Nicknamed "The Dream", Defiagbon fought for Canada and won the heavyweight silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics.-Amateur:...
, but was shockingly TKO'd by fellow Cuban
Cubans
Cubans or Cuban people are the inhabitants or citizens of Cuba. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
Yanqui Diaz
Yanqui Diaz
Yamplier Azcuy Díaz is a professional heavyweight boxer from Cuba, currently living and fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada-Amateur career:...
in the first round in 2004.
Gómez defeated Don King promoted Oliver McCall
Oliver McCall
Oliver "The Atomic Bull" McCall is an American professional Heavyweight boxer best known for winning the WBC Heavyweight Championship in 1994 after scoring an upset knock out victory over Lennox Lewis, in Lewis' home town of London, England, followed by his infamous in-ring meltdown in the rematch...
via a ten round decision on October 15, 2005, a result which was changed shortly thereafter to a no contest after Gomez failed a post-fight drug test due to a presence of cocaine. Gómez vehemently denied the charge and backed this up by producing a negative test where no drugs were found in his system, though this test was taken two months after the fight.
After that Gómez announced that he converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. Gómez stated, '“After they stole my victory over Oliver McCall because of doping in October 2005 I was totally devastated. I swear that I never doped in my life. After the fight I went to the USA where I was built up by the Black Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
community. That's why I converted to Islam. I thank Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
for giving me back my courage, energy and self esteem."' Gómez then returned to the ring on December 15, 2006 and on October 19 of 2007, once again outpointed Oliver McCall
Oliver McCall
Oliver "The Atomic Bull" McCall is an American professional Heavyweight boxer best known for winning the WBC Heavyweight Championship in 1994 after scoring an upset knock out victory over Lennox Lewis, in Lewis' home town of London, England, followed by his infamous in-ring meltdown in the rematch...
winning the WBC International Heavyweight title in the process, then on September 27, 2008, at the Color Line Arena
Color Line Arena
O2 World is a multi-purpose arena in Hamburg, Germany. It opened in 2002 and can hold up to 16,000 people. It is located adjacent to the football stadium Imtech Arena and the new Volksbank Arena in the Bahrenfeld district...
in Hamburg, Germany, Gómez defeated Vladimir Virchis
Vladimir Virchis
Volodymyr Virchis is a Ukrainian boxer and is a touted prospect in the heavyweight division.Virchis is known as "The Hunter", the large and powerful Virchis turned professional in 1999 and won his first 20 bouts with 17 knockouts, including victories over clubfighters Julius Francis, Cliff Couser,...
to become the #1 contender for the WBC heavyweight title.
Gómez faced WBC Heavyweight titleholder Vitali Klitschko
Vitali Klitschko
Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Klychko is a Ukrainian professional heavyweight boxer and the current WBC heavyweight champion. He is a leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Congress of the Council of Europe. He previously...
on March 21 in Stuttgart, Germany. Early in the fight, Gomez managed to frustrate Klitschko by diverting a large number of jabs, but eventually Klitschko was able to establish control using his immense size and superior punching power. He was floored by a big right hand in round seven, but managed to get up. After a barrage of punches in round nine, the referee stopped the fight.
On March 27, 2010 Gómez made a successful comeback, defeating Alexey Mazikin to win the WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
International Heavyweight title. He went on to defeat Alexander Kahl of Germany on April 9 in Hamburg to record his second victory in a fortnight.