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The evening of Friday, August 13, 2004 was an entertaining night for boxing fans. Who could have sensed that upset was in the air? With J.C. Candelo’s prospects of another title shot seemingly dashed on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights by late replacement Eduardo Sanchez, the precedent was set. Remember that Sanchez had to lose eight pounds in one day for the fight and was officially given only seven hours notice that he would be needed in the ring. Furthermore, it was revealed during the telecast that Sanchez had previously taken a leave from the ring for several years. Apparently, he had been involved in a road rage incident in which he was stabbed just below the heart and left for dead. Yet despite these circumstances, the young man was able to pull off the fight of his life in outboxing the ranked Candelo.
Another upset materialized on the undercard of Spanish language Telefutura’s Solo Boxeo televised series. The fight card was telecast from the Laredo Entertainment Center in Texas. The main event of the broadcast pitted WBC number seven ranked Manuel ‘Shotgun’ Gomez against Canadian amateur standout Ian MacKillop in a ten round bout. MacKillop was noticeably larger than the always slightly pudgy Gomez. Still, Gomez had the upper hand in power. MacKillop was stunned by a windmill-like overhand right in the opening round. The Canadian chose to immediately hold, and for his efforts, Gomez threw him to the canvas. The second round saw more of the same. Gomez continued to land the right hand in similar fashion, while MacKillop looked to be hurt on several occasions. The third and final round ended with a perfectly landed left hook to MacKillop’s face. The former amateur standout was unable to rise before the referee reached the count of ten. The win brings Manuel Gomez to 26-10-1 (19), while Ian MacKillop drops to 18-4 (10).
After the bout, Gomez expressed his desire to face Kermit Cintron and chastised Antonio Margarito for failing to fight him before moving up in weight.
The Undercard
The undercard brought together two Cuban fighters in a highly anticipated match-up. The outcome demonstrated the other upset of the night. The number of scheduled rounds proved to be insignificant as the fight was stopped in the opening frame. Highly touted Juan Carlos Gomez stepped into the ring with a perfect record of 37-0 (31). Gomez, who is a former cruiserweight champion, had beaten heavyweight prospect Sinan Samil Sam in his last outing. The loss was Sam’s first as a professional. The highly rated Gomez was set to meet fellow Cuban Yamplier Azcuy. Azcuy, who was regarded lightly by most observers, began aggressively, eventually landing a right hand that hurt the more experienced Gomez and sent him stumbling backward into the ropes. Azcuy sensed his opportunity and pounced on his hurt opponent. He began throwing with both hands before deciding on using his right exclusively. Azcuy punished Gomez with right hand after right hand until the referee stepped in to stop the bout as there was no offensive response from the man on the ropes. To his credit, Gomez never tasted the canvas.
Before the bout, Gomez was ranked number two by the WBC, number four by the WBO, and number nine by the IBF and the WBA. This is Juan Carlos Gomez’s first loss in the professional ranks. His record falls to 37-1 (31), while Yamplier Azcuy improves to 11-1 (7).
The next bout was a six rounder between Tyrone Jackson and Gabriel ‘Hurricane’ Holguin. The tone of the fight was set in the opening round when there was a clash of heads. Neither fighter appeared to be cut and the bout continued. The second round was plagued with a variety of fouls from both combatants. Holguin was penalized a point for continually leading with his head. At one point during the contest, Jackson could be heard yelling “come on” at the referee in an effort to stimulate official action against the headbutts. For his part, Jackson caused a momentary halt to the bout by landing a powerful low blow to Holguin’s most prized possession. The rest of the fight was more of the same. At the end of rounds three and six both fighters stood in the middle of the ring taunting each other. In the end, Gabriel Holguin won a unanimous decision raising his record to 16-3 (7). The loss left Tyrone Jackson with a record of 8-30-2 (5).
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© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2004
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By Victor Garcia (August 16, 2004) 
