Alfonso’s Growing Pains

Alfonso’s Growing Pains

By Coyote Duran (Oct 26, 2007) Doghouse Boxing

Once upon a time a 16 year-old lad named Leonardo DiCaprio joined the cast of the ABC comedy ‘Growing Pains’ in what was very likely the network’s last grab at viewership. If you’re a fan of child-laden episodic comedy, you’ll recognize the formula: The veteran show that’s stayed past its welcome with kids are past their ‘cute prime’ suddenly installing a new waif to take them back to Square One. ‘Growing Pains’ was no different for when the Seaver kids lost their cute, producers and writers brought in DiCaprio, who portrayed a homeless little fella who needed a family when he had none to call his own.

Awwwww…….. more cuteness for one last desperate stab at a full season or two.

Today, while former TV contemporaries Kirk Cameron, Tracey Gold and Jeremy Miller are heading up their pseudo-evangelistic pursuits, driving drunk and pointing out how great ‘Dollar Menu-naires are in McDonald’s commercials, respectively, DiCaprio has gone on to become one of the highest paid and acclaimed actors among his celluloid peers, ultimately garnering multiple Academy Award nominations and a Golden Globe win. He ain’t a half-bad little actor either. He deserves it.

When ‘The Contender’ debuted on NBC in 2005, viewers, hardcore and mainstream alike, were treated to an obscure-yet-cute waif named Alfonso S. Gomez. A welterweight in a middleweight world, Gomez, currently 18-3-2 (8), was the cutesy, non-trash talking, blip on the weather radar surrounded by roiling storm fronts, primarily somewhat experienced junior and super middles like then-undefeated Peter Manfredo Jr. and Anthony Bonsante. However, few expected Gomez to emerge as the ‘superstar’ of the group by handing Manfredo his first loss (later losing to him in a rematch after Manfredo’s return to the show) which led to Gomez facing and beating the cocky Ahmed Kaddour and Jesse Brinkley and landing in the finals show, toppling Luciano Perez by TKO.

Two years later, on his biggest stage, comparatively, since ‘The Contender’s’ first season came to an end, Gomez would break what would seem to be the ‘Contender Curse’ (See Manfredo losing to World Super Middleweight Champion Joe Calzaghe, Sergio Mora’s latest lackluster draw against Elvin Ayala) when he pummeled Arturo Gatti into retirement. If beating a tired Gatti didn’t break that curse, then decisioning the double-tough, iron-jawed Ben Tackie, 28-8-1 (17), certainly did. It makes one wonder what the popular 26 year-old has to look forward to in his near future. But to have gotten this far, there are a few variables conducive to Gomez’ success to consider.

Gomez, by no means, comes off as the anti-ego. A good kid who does what he does in order to grace his parents with a better life for giving him what he enjoys today. Close to his family and friends, much like World Junior Welterweight Champion Ricky Hatton, Gomez’ ferocity lies only in the ring, choosing the same mellow, laid-back persona outside the ring that Hatton enjoys in his own down time. So, imagine what sustaining his first loss against the unassuming Gomez did to Manfredo’s ego, long-term. Sure, as mentioned before, Manfredo avenged his loss in a rematch but to lose for the first time on mainstream television makes an impression on not just the hardcore, but the remote control-happy ships that pass NBC, or these days, ESPN, in the night. This isn’t to say that Manfredo’s future fights, namely his loss to Calzaghe, were so much affected as was Gomez’ confidence in his own potential. But one has to wonder how less effective Manfredo became post-Gomez and this shows itself in his need for conveniently interchangeable voices in his own corner. His father, Peter Sr. Freddie Roach. Sugar Ray Leonard. Meanwhile, the humble kid who believed in nothing but God and himself (and probably in that very order) took the first step in a long walk toward making good.

What also works in Gomez’ favor is the fact that when most fighters crave the rarified air of Mainstream Superstar Mountain, Gomez happily retreated to the far more breathable low altitude of Puristville. Think about it. How many fighters would love to taste the acclaim and popularity of an Oscar De La Hoya or a Mike Tyson for but one day? Gomez? Well, he went from millions of viewers to however relatively few who witnessed his best win yet in the Gatti and Tackie fights, subsequently becoming more respected than the inconsistent ‘Contender’ first-season winner Mora. And apparently, life couldn’t be better.

And life for Gomez is starting to shape itself with promise because as Gomez progresses, so do his possibilities. As Gomez had declared in our Doghouse Boxing interview in April of 2006, right before facing Jesse Feliciano a third time, a desire to face Gatti, he has voiced the same need to face one of the biggest, most promising young names in Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The difference between Gatti and Chavez Jr. is obvious, of course, being that Chavez Jr., slowly and carefully as he may be carried along in his career, is becoming more dangerous and laser-precise in each fight he wins. With Gomez becoming the sleeper success he’s certainly become, it’s hardly believed that Chavez Jr.’s promoter Top Rank is willing to throw their future money machine/Mexican national darling in the ring with him, knowing that the possibility exists that Gomez might just be lucky enough to expose him. And in knowing that Gomez is just salivating for this fight, does Chavez Jr. feel the same about facing Gomez? To be fair, Chavez Jr. probably does, but as aforementioned, Top Rank remains his life vest, thus holding off the possibility of a potential ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate in the making, regardless of who wins.

It’s simpler to prognosticate as to where Gomez’ career will go should he defeat Chavez Jr. should they even collide but what happens if Gomez loses? Will everyone who ever suspected the existence of a ‘Contender Curse’ scoff and try to justify their paranoias, albeit belatedly, that Gomez was no different than a Peter Manfredo Jr. or a Cornelius Bundrage? It’s very likely considering that most boxing conspiracy theorists, not unlike Jon Favreau’s alligator-in-the-sewers-obsessed Foggy Nelson in ‘Daredevil’, desperately cling to the notion that being on the cover of an Electronic Arts video game ultimately bestows its cover model with a career-bending loss of some degree. And no, you can’t tell ‘em any differently.

But honestly, Gomez will very likely get back on the road and do his thing which is fight and yes, he’ll gain more victories. Maybe a rematch against Chavez Jr., fights against welters like Andre Berto, David Estrada or Luis Collazo or even garner a serious title shot. What will send him over the moon in the hearts of his fans with each fight is his combination of moderate punching power, willingness to trade and a lion-like heart and, in a weird twist of fate, it might just make him as popular as Arturo Gatti himself. Maybe even more with some observers, although Gatti’s modern-day legend would be pretty damn hard to eclipse. And if that’s the kind of career Alfonso S. Gomez has to look forward to, then the growing pains will truly be worth suffering through.