Alfonso Gomez Earns Victory in Semifinalists’ Consolation Bout

By David P. Greisman

Sergio Mora’s mother Inez will never need to work again, and as an extra bonus, she and her family will finally get to live in a house.

In a live, nationally televised fight at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, her son won a unanimous decision over Peter Manfredo Jr, earning a one million dollar grand prize as a reward for being champion of the NBC reality show, “The Contender.”

After seven rounds of nearly non-stop action, all three judges’ scorecards read in favor of the Los Angeles native, with Duane Ford scoring the bout 69-64, Jerry Roth’s tally being 68-65 and Paul Smith giving every round to Mora with a ballot reading 70-63.

For Mora, who improves to 16-0 with 3 knockouts, it was a gutsy performance, won with flurries and combinations of hooks that were often launched while Manfredo had him pinned against the ropes.

While the point totals reflected a clear victory for “The Latin Snake,” a far cry from the neck-and-neck battle declared by broadcast commentator (and one of the show’s executive producers) Sylvester Stallone, Manfredo was a difficult, worthy opponent who had entered the competition as the favorite.

To combat his highly regarded foe, Mora began the bout jabbing from a distance and slithering away from Manfredo’s shots, but as the first round deepened, Mora bravely ventured inside, trading back and forth with hooks to the head and body.

As the fight progressed, Manfredo would tire, attempting to buy time and an advantage by pushing Mora to the ropes, but Mora’s offense continued to burst forth, while Manfredo’s punches were ineffective, blocked or dodged.

Mora, a charming, intelligent middleweight who turned pro in 2000, appropriately treated the night like an audition, showing off his full arsenal in flashy format, turning southpaw on occasion and seemingly toyed with Manfredo while cockily jawing at “The Pride of Providence.”

The Californian’s journey to Las Vegas saw Mora winning decisions against Najai Turpin, the formerly undefeated Ishe Smith and the power-punching Jesse Brinkley, but Manfredo was thought to be a hefty challenge.

Manfredo, 24-2 (10), was a world ranked NABO junior middleweight champion when he was recruited to be a contestant.  Although he lost in the first episode to Alfonso Gomez, Jeff Fraza fell ill with chicken pox, and Manfredo was voted back by his fellow pugilists.  Given a second chance, the Rhode Island resident dispatched Miguel Espino, Joey Gilbert and gained revenge on Gomez to seal his place in the finale.

Unfortunately, it appeared that Manfredo’s conditioning was his downfall.  His activity waned as the bout progressed, and when the final bell rang, referee Joe Cortez needed to assist the proud Italian-American back to his corner.

In a pre-taped, edited consolation bout held prior to Manfredo/Mora, Alfonso Gomez and Jesse Brinkley duked it out over five rounds for third place and a two hundred thousand dollar reward.

Gomez had arrived on the show as the smallest boxer, but with his stunning first-week upset of Manfredo, he proved that he had heart and a good chin to complement his skills.  Brinkley, on the other hand, often had to melt down in order to make the 160-pound weight limit, but carried a larger man’s punch.  Without considering Gomez’s showings against Manfredo and Ahmed Kaddour, it seemed like a mismatch in favor of Brinkley.

With the time between the show episodes, taped last year, and the live series finale, though, it appears that Gomez finally grew into the additional weight, carrying along some of his power.  At multiple times, Gomez’s dedicated body attack left Brinkley crumpled forward and badly hurt.

The final scorecards read 48-47 twice and 49-46, giving a unanimous decision to Gomez. Gomez gained the third place spot, two hundred grand in prize money and a Toyota Tacoma truck.

The win moves Gomez’s record to 13-3-1 (4), while Brinkley drops to 25-3 (17).