Why did Alfonso S. Gomez' manager accept the fight with Cotto?

Question

I'm new to boxing, but I was in Atlantic City and saw the fight between Gomez and Cotto this past weekend (April 12, 2008). Cotto demolished him easily, which was the prediction of many on every message board I visited prior to the fight.

Why did Gomez' manager pursue this fight? Sure, Gomez was on Contender, but he clearly was outmatched! Shouldn't he have "climbed" up a ladder of some sort fighting others with more experience first, rather than going right to the top tier with Cotto? What's your thoughts?

Answer 1

It was the biggest opportunity of Alfonso Gomez's career and he wanted to make the most out of it.  It was also, by far, the biggest payday of his career, and Gomez is not the type of fighter to back down from any challenge.  I really don't think that Gomez will ever be able to beat Miguel Cotto, no matter how much time he waited, and the opportunity to fight a big name fighter for a title may not have come for a very long time.  He tried his best, but he was not (and never will be) good enough to beat Cotto.  You must also remember that this fight was just being used as a tune-up or "stay busy" fight for Miguel Cotto; thats why Antonio Margarito fought Kermit Cintron on the undercard: because now that Margarito beat Cintron again, the promoter, Bob Arum will most likely match Cotto with Margarito in July of this year- should be an excellent matchup.

Answer 2

any boxer who's offered to fight for a title accepts the challenge. if gomes declined, then what would that make him?

Answer 3

One answer

MONEY

Enough said.

Cash in while you can on your 15 minutes of fame....Fighters should EARN their way to a title like the other guys do fighting all the top contenders.  Not just be given a shot for doing well on the Contender show.  They decided on the quick route and it was pretty painful to watch.

Answer 4

With the state of boxing today...this made sense.

The idea in today's boxing is to keep attention on yourself.  Gomez had good exposure on the Contender, so he is basically striking while the iron is hot.  

Gomez could have taken his chances rising through the ranks, but in a welterweight division that is laced with hot talents that will not bring a big purse....Gomez threw caution to the wind for a large paycheck.  He likely would have lost to a lesser known opponent for less $$, so the idea is / was that he will likely not make more $$$ down the road in one night.

It is really a win-win situation for Gomez.  Despite the loss, he still has his name out there and he could be thrown back into the mix just because his name is still out there.

Name recognition seems to be more important than actual talent, so there is likely more mileage left in Gomez' reality TV fame.

Sure everyone predicted that Cotto would win easily........exactly what Gomez' camp was looking for............ more attention that will hopefully lead to additional paychecks for Gomez.

Answer 5

its for a title

Answer 6

haha because its a championship fight and i think that he was hoping that gomezs size would over come cotto.he knows he doesnt want to put him up against mayweather so the next best thing is cotto.money

Answer 7

Cotto's a big name.