Ricardo Conde

By Ricardo Conde

WBC Continental Americas welterweight champion Alfonso Gomez (22-4-2, 11 KOs) of Mexico, trained by his father Alfonso Gomez, Sr. and being assisted by former junior lightweight champ Robert Garcia in Oxnard, CA, will step back into the ring on Saturday, July 17th in Mexico against an opponent yet to be determined and will headline the latest edition of Top Rank Live on Fox Sports en Espaol which is being promoted by Top Rank. In his last outing, Gomez defeated former two-time lightweight champion El Temible Jose Luis Castillo (60-10-1, 52 KOs), when Castillo refused to answer the bell for the start of round six on the Pacquiao vs. Clottey The Event undercard at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX.

We had a moment to sit down and talk to Alfonso Gomez as he prepares for his upcoming bout, heres what he had to say:

Youre currently preparing for your next fight; do you know who your next opponent will be?

I dont know who Ill be fighting yet but I do know itll be in Mexico. First they said that I was going to fight in a rematch against Castillo, and then they said Id get to fight Saul Alvarez or maybe even Margarito but right now we dont know who well be fighting. Im just glad that Ill be fighting again.

How is training camp going?

So far training camp is going good; Ive been in camp for three weeks already. My training camps are usually eight weeks but my fight got pushed out two weeks early so now itll be a ten week training camp, which is even better for me because Ill get better and stronger each day.

Youre going to be headlining again, do think theres any added pressure for you to have a great performance and how does that make you feel?

Well, Ive been a headliner a few times already; I was the headliner when I fought Ben Tackie, Arturo Gatti and Miguel Cotto so Ive been the headliner a few times so theres really no added pressure. Im going out there to do what I always do and thats give the fans the best fight I can give them and get closer to those championship fights.

Lets talk a little bit about your last fight. In your last outing you were able to stop two-time lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo before the start of round six, tell us about that fight and whats your opinion of him as a fighter?

Hes definitely a warrior; everyone saw the type of fighter he is in the Corrales fights, the fights with Mayweather and so on. In this particular fight I was playing mind games with him because thats what I do. I was telling him that I was faster, stronger and better than him and it wasnt just talk because I trained really hard for that fight in Oxnard at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy and at World Crown Sports. I sparred with Brandon Rios, who is a tough S.O.B. I trained extremely hard for that fight and it showed in the fight that I was stronger and faster than he was and just when I was about to pick up the pace thats when he decided to call it off.

What kind of statement were you looking to make in your fight with Castillo, were you looking for the knockout?

I was looking for the knockout and after watching the tape I think I could have gotten it if I would have been a little more aggressive from the beginning. I dont regret anything in that fight though, I think I did well, I was composed and I was never hurt. I used my distance, my jabs and I never backed up and little by little I was tearing him apart.

What is your opinion of the current welterweight division?

In my opinion its the best division out there. The welterweight division has the best talent and is full of tremendous fighters so Im really lucky to be in this division. I think that if I was in a different division, lighter or heavier I would have become champion already but because this division has so much talent it has been a little difficult. My name keeps getting mentioned in there with the big fights and that in itself is an accomplishment seeing as how this division is so stacked.

Name one or two fighters youd like to face in the near future?

Well, Id love to be in a big fight against Manny Pacquiao or Mayweather but realistically I know thats not possible right now until I beat some of the big names out there. So right now Id love to fight Saul Alvarez, David Estrada, Marcos Maidana or even Amir Khan, beating one of these guys could definitely set me up for bigger fights.

What are some of your goals for the rest of 2010?

I have a lot of goals for 2010, obviously to keep winning and get bigger and better fights. Im staying focused and looking forward to bigger and better thing this year. Outside of boxing, I have my band Hy3rid and were looking to make some noise in the music world.

When youre not fighting what does Alfonso Gomez like to do in his spare time?

Well, when Im not boxing like I mentioned earlier I love making music with my band Hy3rid, which is hip-hop in espaol, and in terms of style and flow I feel we are the best rappers in Mexico, ever. Plus, I recently teamed up Kimurawear which does clothing for MMA and they were looking to get into boxing, so Im their first boxer to have his own signature t-shirt and I invite the fans to visit my website www.alfonsosgomez.com to get more information about it because the first few people will receive a free autographed poster and key chain.

Is there anything you would like to tell your fans?

Yes, Id love to thank all the fans for their support and hopefully theyll continue to support me. I always train hard to give the fans the best fight I can give them and Ill continue to do that, so again, I appreciate all the support and from the bottom of my heart I thank all of you.