Harold Gomes (born August 22, 1933) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1951 and 1963. The highlight of Gomes's career came in 1959 when he won the world super featherweight title against Paul Jorgensen.
Gomes fought as a professional for the first time in September 1951 at the age of 18. His debut was against Billy St Pierre at the Rhode Island Auditorium in his hometown, the venue for his first thirteen professional fights. Billy St Pierre was knocked out in the second round, giving Gomes his first professional victory. Gomes remained undefeated until January 1954, when he lost a ten-round decision to Tommy Tibbs, a man that Gomes had beaten twice in 1952 and once in 1953. In March 1954 Gomes claimed the first title of his career when he beat Johnny O'Brien, via a twelve-round unanimous decision, for the USA New England featherweight title at the Boston Garden. Gomes suffered two knockout defeats in the second half of 1954, both to Tibbs in Boston. Following his second knockout loss to Tibbs, Gomes won twelve fights in a row, including a rematch against O'Brien for the New England title. His run of victories was ended in August 1957 when he lost a unanimous ten-round decision to Isidro Martinez at the Boston Arena.[1]
After eight successive victories following his loss to Martinez, Gomes fought for the vacant world super featherweight title against Jorgensen, a man he had defeated earlier in the year, in July 1959. The fight lasted the fifteen round distance, with Gomes knocked down four times and Jorgensen repeatedly cautioned for low blows.[2] The scorecards of the judges were all in favour of Gomes, thus making him the new world champion. Following his world title victory, Gomes was named The Ring's Fighter of the Month.[3]
Gomes's world title reign was ended in his first defence, when he lost to the Filipino challenger Flash Elorde in March 1960. Gomes, who was the betting favourite, was fighting outside the United States for the first time, as the contest was held at the Araneta Coliseum (now SMART Araneta Coliseum) in Quezon City. The sellout crowd of 26,000 watched Elorde knock Gomes down five times en route to a seventh-round knockout victory.[4] A rematch took place in August at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. Elorde claimed the victory after one minute and twenty seconds of the opening round. Elorde scored a knockdown with a left hand to the face, and although Gomes was able to rise to his feet at the count of seven, he was knocked out with a combination soon after.[5]
Gomes did not participate in a world title fight again in his career, which contained eight further fights. After four successive wins, he lost a split decision to Johnny Bizzarro before being knocked out in his final three professional fights, including his final fight, a one-round knockout defeat to Dave Coventry in October 1963, in London.[1]
Oldest living world champion March 2, 2022 – present
Incumbent
January 12, 2023
harold, gomes, born, august, 1933, american, former, professional, boxer, competed, between, 1951, 1963, highlight, gomes, career, came, 1959, when, world, super, featherweight, title, against, paul, jorgensen, statisticsweight, super, featherweightfeatherweig. Harold Gomes born August 22 1933 is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1951 and 1963 The highlight of Gomes s career came in 1959 when he won the world super featherweight title against Paul Jorgensen Harold GomesStatisticsWeight s Super featherweightFeatherweightHeight5 ft 5 in 165 cm NationalityAmericanBorn 1933 08 22 August 22 1933 age 89 Providence Rhode Island United StatesStanceOrthodoxBoxing recordTotal fights60Wins50Wins by KO24Losses10Draws0 Contents 1 Professional career 2 Championships and accomplishments 3 References 4 External linksProfessional career EditGomes fought as a professional for the first time in September 1951 at the age of 18 His debut was against Billy St Pierre at the Rhode Island Auditorium in his hometown the venue for his first thirteen professional fights Billy St Pierre was knocked out in the second round giving Gomes his first professional victory Gomes remained undefeated until January 1954 when he lost a ten round decision to Tommy Tibbs a man that Gomes had beaten twice in 1952 and once in 1953 In March 1954 Gomes claimed the first title of his career when he beat Johnny O Brien via a twelve round unanimous decision for the USA New England featherweight title at the Boston Garden Gomes suffered two knockout defeats in the second half of 1954 both to Tibbs in Boston Following his second knockout loss to Tibbs Gomes won twelve fights in a row including a rematch against O Brien for the New England title His run of victories was ended in August 1957 when he lost a unanimous ten round decision to Isidro Martinez at the Boston Arena 1 After eight successive victories following his loss to Martinez Gomes fought for the vacant world super featherweight title against Jorgensen a man he had defeated earlier in the year in July 1959 The fight lasted the fifteen round distance with Gomes knocked down four times and Jorgensen repeatedly cautioned for low blows 2 The scorecards of the judges were all in favour of Gomes thus making him the new world champion Following his world title victory Gomes was named The Ring s Fighter of the Month 3 Gomes s world title reign was ended in his first defence when he lost to the Filipino challenger Flash Elorde in March 1960 Gomes who was the betting favourite was fighting outside the United States for the first time as the contest was held at the Araneta Coliseum now SMART Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City The sellout crowd of 26 000 watched Elorde knock Gomes down five times en route to a seventh round knockout victory 4 A rematch took place in August at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco Elorde claimed the victory after one minute and twenty seconds of the opening round Elorde scored a knockdown with a left hand to the face and although Gomes was able to rise to his feet at the count of seven he was knocked out with a combination soon after 5 Gomes did not participate in a world title fight again in his career which contained eight further fights After four successive wins he lost a split decision to Johnny Bizzarro before being knocked out in his final three professional fights including his final fight a one round knockout defeat to Dave Coventry in October 1963 in London 1 Championships and accomplishments EditCauliflower Alley Club Boxing Honoree 1994 6 References Edit a b boxer Harold Gomes Boxrec Retrieved 2 August 2010 Gomes Takes Title From Jorgensen Sarasota Journal 21 July 1959 Retrieved 2 August 2010 Harold Gomes Named Fighter Of Month Kentucky New Era 25 July 1959 Retrieved 2 August 2010 Elorde Stops Gomes For Lightweight Title The Deseret News 16 March 1960 Retrieved 2 August 2010 Elorde Puts Away Gomes In The 1st The Times News 19 August 1960 Retrieved 2 August 2010 Honorees Cauliflower Alley Club Retrieved September 27 2020 External links EditBoxing record for Harold Gomes from BoxRec registration required AchievementsVacantTitle last held bySandy Saddler World Super Featherweight ChampionJuly 20 1959 March 16 1960 Succeeded byGabriel ElordeSuper featherweight statusPreceded bySandy Saddler Oldest living world championSeptember 18 2001 present IncumbentStatus all weights Preceded byRobert CohenBantam Oldest living world championMarch 2 2022 present Incumbent Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Harold Gomes amp oldid 1107936087, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
