RARE Salvador Sanchez vs Wilfredo Gomez official on-site working press credential billed, "The Battle Of The Little Giants", 21st August 1981, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.

Condition mint

Sanchez W TKO 8
Gomez down in the first. Going into the eighth, Wilfredo's face is completely swollen. Both his eyes are almost sealed shut. Gomez is hurt bad with a devestating right hand, and then is pounded on with devestating left hooks and a couple of right hands. He goes down. Referee Padilla counts him, and when Gomez stands up on his feet and indicates that he is ready to fight, Padilla looks at his facial features, and signals the end by waving his arms.

Price: £125

Salvador Sanchez vs Wilfredo Gomez Round 7-8

In the case of Salvador Sanchez, the boxing world will forever wonder, what if? Sanchez was the reigning WBC featherweight champion when he died in an auto accident on August 12, 1982.

What we do know, is that at the age of 23, Sanchez was in his prime and considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Sanchez turned pro at the age of 16 and won 17 of his first 18 bouts by knockout. Although he was tall and thin, Salvador packed considerable power.

But punching power wasn't all he brought into the ring. Sanchez was a an excellent counterpuncher, dismantling many of his opponents with accurate and swift counterpunches.

In 1977, Sanchez lost a 12-round decision to Antonio Becerra for the vacant Mexican bantamweight title. He would never lose again. In 1980, he met popular WBC featherweight champion Danny "Little Red" Lopez, a hard-hitting American who had made nine successful title defences.

Sanchez dissected Lopez with precision and power, scoring a 13th-round TKO. Salvador made four successful title defences before the year ended, decisioning Ruben Castillo, knocking out Lopez in the 14th round of their rematch, and then decisioning Patrick Ford and future featherweight champion Juan LaPorte.

The Mexican warrior may best be remembered for his 1981 fight against Wilfredo Gomez, the WBC junior featherweight champion. Gomez was unbeaten in 33 fights with 32 knockouts. Still, Sanchez decimated the future Hall of Famer. He dropped Gomez in the first round and maintained a consistent attack until the fight was stopped in the eighth round.

In his final bout, on July 21, 1982, Sanchez turned back a young and aggressive Azumah Nelson at Madison Square Garden for his ninth title defence. The fight was stopped at 1:45 of the 15th round. Nelson would go on to win world titles in two weight classes. But three weeks after their fight, Sanchez was dead.







Although he stood just 5-5 and fought at a weight no more than 130 pounds during his prime, Wilfredo Gomez is one of the most prolific punchers in boxing history.

Of Gomez' 44 wins, 42 came by knockout. At one point of his career, he won 32 consecutive fights by knockout and his first 40 victories all came inside the distance. Although he was a talented boxer, Gomez was capable of rendering opponents unconsious with either hand. Having won world titles in three weight classes and having established a division-record 17 title defences at junior featherweight, Gomez is considered one of the greatest fighters to ever emerge from Puerto Rico.

Gomez won a world amateur title in 1974 and turned pro later that year. His first fight ended in a six-round draw, but the pint-sized puncher wouldn't allow a judge to decide the outcome of his next 32 victories. A knockout loss ended the streak but Gomez immediately embarked another streak, scoring eight straight knockouts until he decisioned iron-jawed Juan LaPorte in 1984.

Initially, Gomez campaigned as bantamweight, but his inability to secure a title fight led him to the junior featherweight division. In 1977, in just his 17th pro fight, Gomez climbed off the canvas to win the first of his three world titles by knocking out WBC junior featherweight champion Dong-Kyun Yum in the 12th round. En route to making 17 title defences, Gomez knocked out Royal Kobayashi, Carlos Zarate, Juan (Kid) Meza and Lupe Pintor, before relinquishing his title in 1983.

Gomez was lured into a fight against great featherweight champion Salvador Sanchez during his impressive run at junior featherweight. Sanchez knocked out Gomez in the eighth round of their 1981 fight but Gomez would make a successful return to the featherweight division. In 1984, he won the WBC featherweight title by decisioning LaPorte. His reign ended one fight later when Azumah Nelson wrested the title from Gomez with an 11th-round knockout.

Another climb in weight followed the loss to Nelson and Gomez quickly earned his third title. This time it was accompanied by controversy. Fighting in Puerto Rico, in 1985, Gomez won a close majority decision over Rocky Lockridge to win the WBA junior lightweight crown. But again, his reign ended with his first defence. Gomez was knocked out in nine rounds by Alfredo Layne and retired shortly after.

Gomez made a one-fight comeback in 1989. He knocked out junior welterweight Mario Salazar in two rounds but retired again.