FORT WORTH – Ask Juan Gomez, and he’ll say without any reservation all the qualities his mother inspires in him.
For the self-described “big-time momma’s boy” – it requires a guy who can ably defend himself to admit that – it’s hard work, patience, humility, kindness, perseverance and tolerance, and all that, just to name a few.
She wonders, though, if lessons of common sense went through one ear and out the other.
Who would go into a boxing ring as a combatant and make yourself vulnerable to such thrashing?
“She hates me fighting,” Gomez said with a grin, his intelligence immediately on display. “She said, ‘I’m rooting for you, but my heart tells me you have too good of a brain to be hitting it.
“I tell her, ‘I agree, but this is a passion and as long as I got the youth and the drive … let me chase it for a year, let it die down and I’ll be good in whatever I do.’”
Considering the power that is a mother’s freakish intuition and sixth sense, mom probably already knows that the boxing will be going on for another year, at least.
The son is quite good at this and driven.
Gomez was one-half of a 152-pound semifinal pitting two very impressive people against one another in the Fort Worth Regional Golden Gloves Tournament at the Will Rogers Memorial Center on Thursday night.
Gomez got the better of Edgar Hernandez in a decision victory in front of a Watt Arena crowd that included former world champion Gene Hatcher. Gomez will fight in the final on Saturday evening against Adam Salgado.
The real treat was meeting the two afterward.
The whole youth-being-wasted-on-the-young penning of Bernard Shaw doesn’t apply to these ambitious, very smart fellows. Both are consumed with a unique chronic vigor. There is simply not enough time in the day for them between school, work, boxing and general curiosity.
Each is a student at UT Arlington. Gomez is an aerospace engineering major. Hernandez, 22, who went to high school at Euless Trinity, is a junior mechanical engineering student. He also works a construction job during the week.
“I put my hardest into everything. School, work, boxing … that’s all I do every day, all day,” Hernandez said after spending a moment after the fight on his knee and head bowed in prayer.
“I’m blessed. I was thanking God for giving me another opportunity to be healthy and sound to fight another day.”
Though four years older than Gomez, in the ring Hernandez, a resident of North Richland Hills, was the less experienced of the two. He has been at this for about three years.
Gomez’s boxing days began as an 11-year-old.
As a fighter, Gomez is patient and composed with good instincts. He is also quite the thinker in there.
“He’s never had a guy to sit there and outthink him like that,” said Joe Guzman, Hernandez’s trainer at the North Fort Worth Police Athletic League. “He always had guys going in and being aggressive. He doesn’t have a lot of experience. He’s getting it … the hard way.”
Even with as few fights as he had, Hernandez was the defending regional champion from a year ago in a tournament that lacked depth at this weight.
Gomez didn’t compete in the tournament last year. In fact, this year’s event is his first tournament in two years.
Gomez had to quit the sport at 16 to go work – “we had some family issues” – and dedicated himself to school. He managed to earn an associate’s degree as well as a high school diploma while at Polytechnic High School by taking dual-credit courses.
“I was a freshman taking junior classes, and it kind of accelerated from there. Before I knew it, I was already a freshman in college and still in high school.”
“I said if I’m not doing something I love to do [boxing], then I’d give 100 percent to something else, which is school.”
He has been back training at the Fort Worth Boxing Club for only a month and a half.
“I felt great,” Gomez said.
He looked good, too, in his second bout of the tournament. Hernandez spent the third round with blood trickling from his nose.
“I have a great training camp. Everything starts out of a great training camp,” Gomez said. “If you train hard, you hit hard. Simple as that. You have to be confident in one’s self, one’s corner. Other than that, nothing else really matters.”
The winners of Saturday’s finals bouts advance to the state tournament next week. The top boxers from across the state will assemble in Fort Worth vying for a berth to the national tournament in May in Chattanooga, Tenn.
This momma’s boy has a good shot to be one of them, though his scheduled bout with Salgado is by no means a layup.
His mother will be there, doing what mothers often do, managing anxiety. The son, meanwhile, will remain cool as a cat.
Thursday’s results
Bantam open
60 pounds: Angel Vargas d. Leon Bonilla, decision.
70 pounds: Yeshawn Long d. Isaac Sanchez, dec.
Junior novice
80 pounds: Christian Giron d. Elizjah Henderson, dec.
101 pounds: Devin Franklin Jr. d. Joseph Mollinedo, dec.
132 pounds: Victor Delgadillo d. Stephen Buck, default.
Junior open
85 pounds: Iziah Garcia d. Eduardo Rangel, dec.
Intermediate novice
106 pounds: Isaac Nunez d. Jerry Alverio, dec.
119 pounds: Miguel Gomez d. Juan De la Cruz, dec.
Intermediate open
106 pounds: Miguel Moreno d. Christian Cantu, dec.
Female bantam novice
95 pounds: Devony Andrade d. Anaya Guerrero dec.
Junior female open
85 pounds: Angelina Ramirez d. Zakyria Franklin, dec.
95 pounds: Yarlette Bonilla d. Valerie Guerreca, dec.
Men’s novice
152 pounds quarterfinals: Isaiah Hannie d. David Anthony, disqualified (uniform violation … came to the ring with tights under trunks); Dakendrick Wallace d. Jose Alvarez, referee stopped contest, first round; Mathew Gray d. Trystan Hulsey, dec.; Jama Mberwa d. James Henderson, dec.
165 pounds quarterfinals: Kuinteion Newman d. Bryan Garcia, dec; Marcus Simmons d. Edward Tanguma, dec.; Nathaniel Primous d. Levi Stephens, dec.; Adam Morrison d. John Santos, dec.
201 pounds semifinals: Cesar Gomez d. Humberto Martinez, default; Dametrez Marshall d. Christopher Todaro, dec.
Men’s open
123 pounds semifinals: Manuel Ochoa d. Aron Hernandez, dec.; Christopher Martinez d. Fernando Solis, dec.
152 pounds semifinals: Juan Gomez d. Edgar Hernandez, dec.; Adam Salgado d. Emmanuel Tennison, dec.
Friday’s bouts (beginning at 7 p.m.)
Bantam novice
60 pounds: Isaias Villegas vs. Daniel Segovia; Israel Botello vs. Jaylen Henery.
75 pounds: Cole Joyner vs. Brandon Zamarripa.
55 pounds: Ethan Mares vs. Ivan Ramirez.
65 pounds: Ruben Quezada vs. Irvin Aguilar.
Bantam open
75 pounds: Reymundo Rangel vs. Isaiah Blanco.
Junior novice
75 pounds: Alexander Ruvalcaba vs. Jaycob Timmons.
95 pounds: Lucas Mashburn vs. Demain Morlas.
132 pounds: Andrew Wyatt vs. Victor Delgadillo.
154-plus pounds: Marcelino Isaac vs. Gabriel Montemayor.
Junior open
80 pounds: Marcielo Pena vs. Elixlan Carrillo.
114 pounds: Santiago Buendia vs. Joshua Franco.
132 pounds: Brandon Click vs. Francisco Ramirez.
Intermediate open
101 pounds: Nestor Mejia vs. Michael Fernandez.
110 pounds: Joseph Rios vs. Juan Barron.
Senior novice
138 pounds: Orlando Montoya vs. Jorge Ibanez.
145 pounds: Ryan Austin vs. Phil Hanley.
Senior open
119 pounds: David Lopez vs. German Lopez.
Intermediate female novice
101 pounds: Kayleigh Wadsworth vs. Carolina Gaitan.
Junior female novice
132 pounds: America Perez Vega vs. Ariana Guerrero.
Senior female novice
119 pounds: Cameron Bittick vs. Yasmine Little.
Youth men’s novice
132 pounds: Camron Colier vs. Miguel Martinez.
Men’s novice
152 pounds semifinals: Isaiah Hannie vs. Dakendrick Wallace; Mathew Gray vs. Jama Mberwa.
165 pounds semifinals: Kuinteion Newman vs. Marcus Simmons; Nathaniel Primous vs. Adam Morrison.
178 pounds semifinals: James Kavanagh vs. Taylor Kervaugh; Haheem Balogum vs. Rogers Braxton.
Men’s open
165 pounds semifinals: Antonio Hatchett vs. Sergio Alanis. (Quran Barton advanced via bye.)
