Juan Carlos Gómez (born 26 July 1973) is a Cuban former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2014. He held the WBC cruiserweight title from 1998 to 2002, and challenged once for the WBC heavyweight title in 2009.
Juan Carlos Gómez | |
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Statistics | |
Nickname(s) | Pantera Negra ("Black Panther") |
Weight(s) |
|
Height | 6 ft 3+1⁄2 in (192 cm) |
Reach | 80+1⁄2 in (204 cm) |
Nationality | Cuban |
Born | (1973-07-26) 26 July 1973 (age 48) Havana, Cuba |
Stance | Southpaw |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 60 |
Wins | 55 |
Wins by KO | 39 |
Losses | 4 |
No contests | 1 |
Defeated Jan Schwank (Germany) 9–4
Lost to Sven Ottke (Germany) 9–9
Defeated Antonio Tarver (USA) 10–10
Lost to Thomas Ulrich (Germany) 12–16
The southpaw turned pro as a cruiser for Universum box promotions.
On 21 February 1998, in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Gómez won the WBC Cruiserweight title from reigning champion, Marcelo Fabian Dominguez via a unanimous decision.
Nicknamed "Black Panther", Gómez ruled the cruiserweight division from 1998–2001, successfully defending his WBC Cruiserweight title against ten different fighters. Among his notable defenses were those against Dominguez (rematch), Imamu Mayfield and the smaller Jorge Castro who was KOd for the first time. James Toney declined a title shot when he was mandatory and later fought and beat Vassily Jirov.
He then vacated the title in February 2002 in order to move up to the Heavyweight ranks.
In 2001 Gómez tested the waters in the heavyweight division and beaten durable veteran Al Cole (another former Cruiserweight champ) by TKO 6. Gómez then moved back down to defend his title against Pietro Aurino, and after defeating Aurino he moved up to heavyweight permanently.
Gómez has had some success at heavyweight, capturing wins over Sinan Samil Sam and David Defiagbon, but was shockingly TKO'd by fellow Cuban Yanqui Díaz in the first round in 2004.
Gómez defeated Don King promoted Oliver McCall via a ten-round decision on 15 October 2005, a result which was changed shortly thereafter to a no contest after Gomez failed a post-fight drug test due to a presence of cocaine.[1] Gómez vehemently denied the charge and backed this up by producing a negative test where no drugs were found in his system, though this test was taken two months after the fight.[2]
After that Gómez announced that he converted to Islam. Gómez stated, '"After they stole my victory over Oliver McCall because of doping in October 2005 I was totally devastated. I swear that I never doped in my life. After the fight I went to the USA where I was built up by the Black Muslim community. That's why I converted to Islam. I thank Allah for giving me back my courage, energy and self esteem."' Gómez then returned to the ring on 15 December 2006 and on 19 October 2007, once again outpointed Oliver McCall winning the WBC International Heavyweight title in the process, then on 27 September 2008, at the Color Line Arena in Hamburg, Germany, Gómez defeated Vladimir Virchis to become the #1 contender for the WBC heavyweight title.[3]
Gómez faced WBC Heavyweight titleholder Vitali Klitschko on 21 March in Stuttgart, Germany. Early in the fight, Gomez managed to frustrate Klitschko by diverting a large number of jabs, but eventually Klitschko was able to establish control using his immense size and superior punching power. He was floored by a big right hand in round seven, but managed to get up. After a barrage of punches in round nine, the referee stopped the fight.[4]
On 27 March 2010, Gómez made a successful comeback, defeating Alexey Mazikin to win the WBA International Heavyweight title. He went on to defeat Alexander Kahl of Germany on April 9 in Hamburg to record his second victory in a fortnight.
60 fights | 55 wins | 4 losses |
---|---|---|
By knockout | 40 | 3 |
By decision | 15 | 1 |
No contests | 1 |
No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
60 | Loss | 55–4 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 1 (10), 0:22 | 28 Nov 2014 | ![]() |
Lost WBA International cruiserweight title |
59 | Win | 55–3 (1) | ![]() |
TKO | 5 (10), 1:32 | 6 Jul 2014 | ![]() |
Won vacant WBA International cruiserweight title |
58 | Win | 54–3 (1) | ![]() |
SD | 8 | 8 Mar 2014 | ![]() |
|
57 | Win | 53–3 (1) | ![]() |
UD | 8 | 23 Nov 2013 | ![]() |
|
56 | Win | 52–3 (1) | ![]() |
TKO | 2 (10), 2:55 | 1 Nov 2013 | ![]() |
|
55 | Win | 51–3 (1) | ![]() |
UD | 8 | 11 May 2012 | ![]() |
|
54 | Win | 50–3 (1) | ![]() |
TKO | 4 (8), 0:22 | 21 Apr 2012 | ![]() |
|
53 | Loss | 49–3 (1) | ![]() |
MD | 10 | 24 Sep 2011 | ![]() |
|
52 | Win | 49–2 (1) | ![]() |
TKO | 4 (8), 0:27 | 4 Dec 2010 | ![]() |
|
51 | Win | 48–2 (1) | ![]() |
UD | 8 | 31 Jul 2010 | ![]() |
|
50 | Win | 47–2 (1) | ![]() |
UD | 8 | 4 Jun 2010 | ![]() |
|
49 | Win | 46–2 (1) | ![]() |
UD | 8 | 9 Apr 2010 | ![]() |
|
48 | Win | 45–2 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 3 (12), 2:44 | 27 Mar 2010 | ![]() |
Won vacant WBA International heavyweight title |
47 | Loss | 44–2 (1) | ![]() |
TKO | 9 (12), 1:49 | 21 Mar 2009 | ![]() |
For WBC heavyweight title |
46 | Win | 44–1 (1) | ![]() |
UD | 12 | 27 Sep 2008 | ![]() |
|
45 | Win | 43–1 (1) | ![]() |
UD | 12 | 19 Oct 2007 | ![]() |
Won WBC International heavyweight title |
44 | Win | 42–1 (1) | ![]() |
UD | 12 | 16 Jun 2007 | ![]() |
Won vacant PABA heavyweight title |
43 | Win | 41–1 (1) | ![]() |
TKO | 1 (12), 0:33 | 10 Feb 2007 | ![]() |
Won vacant WBC Latino heavyweight title |
42 | Win | 40–1 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 3 (8), 2:00 | 15 Dec 2006 | ![]() |
|
41 | NC | 39–1 (1) | ![]() |
UD | 10 | 15 Oct 2005 | ![]() |
Originally a UD win for Gómez, later ruled an NC after he failed a drug test |
40 | Win | 39–1 | ![]() |
KO | 4 (8), 2:27 | 28 May 2005 | ![]() |
|
39 | Win | 38–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 3 (12), 2:58 | 15 Jan 2005 | ![]() |
|
38 | Loss | 37–1 | ![]() |
TKO | 1 (8), 1:46 | 13 Aug 2004 | ![]() |
|
37 | Win | 37–0 | ![]() |
UD | 10 | 27 Sep 2003 | ![]() |
|
36 | Win | 36–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 (8) | 17 Aug 2002 | ![]() |
|
35 | Win | 35–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 5 (8) | 16 Mar 2002 | ![]() |
|
34 | Win | 34–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 6 (12) | 3 Nov 2001 | ![]() |
Retained WBC cruiserweight title |
33 | Win | 33–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 5 (8), 1:10 | 4 Aug 2001 | ![]() |
|
32 | Win | 32–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 10 (12), 1:56 | 16 Dec 2000 | ![]() |
Retained WBC cruiserweight title |
31 | Win | 31–0 | ![]() |
KO | 3 (12), 0:50 | 6 May 2000 | ![]() |
Retained WBC cruiserweight title |
30 | Win | 30–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 (12), 2:35 | 11 Mar 2000 | ![]() |
Retained WBC cruiserweight title |
29 | Win | 29–0 | ![]() |
KO | 9 (12), 1:25 | 11 Dec 1999 | ![]() |
Retained WBC cruiserweight title |
28 | Win | 28–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 6 (12), 2:45 | 17 Jul 1999 | ![]() |
Retained WBC cruiserweight title |
27 | Win | 27–0 | ![]() |
UD | 12 | 13 Mar 1999 | ![]() |
Retained WBC cruiserweight title |
26 | Win | 26–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 (12), 2:19 | 12 Dec 1998 | ![]() |
Retained WBC cruiserweight title |
25 | Win | 25–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 (12), 2:35 | 3 Oct 1998 | ![]() |
Retained WBC cruiserweight title |
24 | Win | 24–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 6 (12), 1:30 | 5 Jun 1998 | ![]() |
Retained WBC cruiserweight title |
23 | Win | 23–0 | ![]() |
UD | 12 | 21 Feb 1998 | ![]() |
Won WBC cruiserweight title |
22 | Win | 22–0 | ![]() |
KO | 2 | 8 Nov 1997 | ![]() |
|
21 | Win | 21–0 | ![]() |
KO | 2 (8) | 4 Oct 1997 | ![]() |
|
20 | Win | 20–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 4 (12) | 12 Jul 1997 | ![]() |
Retained WBC International cruiserweight title |
19 | Win | 19–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 5 (12) | 14 Jun 1997 | ![]() |
Retained WBC International cruiserweight title |
18 | Win | 18–0 | ![]() |
KO | 1 | 10 May 1997 | ![]() |
|
17 | Win | 17–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 9 (12) | 8 Mar 1997 | ![]() |
Retained WBC International cruiserweight title |
16 | Win | 16–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 3 | 22 Feb 1997 | ![]() |
|
15 | Win | 15–0 | ![]() |
PTS | 8 | 25 Jan 1997 | ![]() |
|
14 | Win | 14–0 | ![]() |
KO | 1 (12) | 21 Dec 1996 | ![]() |
Retained WBC International cruiserweight title |
13 | Win | 13–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 11 (12) | 19 Oct 1996 | ![]() |
Retained WBC International cruiserweight title |
12 | Win | 12–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 9 (12) | 17 Aug 1996 | ![]() |
Won vacant WBC International cruiserweight title |
11 | Win | 11–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 | 8 Jun 1996 | ![]() |
|
10 | Win | 10–0 | ![]() |
PTS | 8 | 4 May 1996 | ![]() |
|
9 | Win | 9–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 | 13 Apr 1996 | ![]() |
|
8 | Win | 8–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 (8) | 6 Apr 1996 | ![]() |
|
7 | Win | 7–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 5 (8) | 16 Mar 1996 | ![]() |
|
6 | Win | 6–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 1 (8) | 25 Feb 1996 | ![]() |
|
5 | Win | 5–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 2 | 10 Feb 1996 | ![]() |
|
4 | Win | 4–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 4 (6) | 25 Nov 1995 | ![]() |
|
3 | Win | 3–0 | ![]() |
KO | 2 (6) | 19 Aug 1995 | ![]() |
|
2 | Win | 2–0 | ![]() |
TKO | 4 (6), 2:30 | 5 Aug 1995 | ![]() |
|
1 | Win | 1–0 | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | 20 May 1995 | ![]() |
Date | Fight | Viewership (avg.) | Network | Source(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
15 January 2005 |
Juan Carlos Gomez vs. David Defiagbon | 2,260,000 |
ZDF | [5] |
28 May 2005 |
Juan Carlos Gomez vs. George Arias | 1,020,000 |
ZDF | [6] |
15 October 2005 |
Juan Carlos Gomez vs. Oliver McCall I | 2,000,000 |
ZDF | [7] |
21 March 2009 |
Vitali Klitschko vs. Juan Carlos Gomez | 10,880,000 |
RTL Television | [8] |
Total viewership | 16,160,000 |
Sporting positions | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Regional boxing titles | ||||
Vacant Title last held by Alexey Ilyin |
WBC International cruiserweight champion 17 August 1996 – 21 February 1998 Won world title |
Vacant Title next held by Vassiliy Jirov | ||
Vacant Title last held by J. D. Chapman |
WBC Latino heavyweight champion 10 February 2007 – July 2007 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by Fres Oquendo | ||
Vacant Title last held by Kali Meehan |
PABA heavyweight champion 16 June 2007 – October 2007 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by Friday Ahunanya | ||
Preceded by Oliver McCall |
WBC International heavyweight champion 19 October 2007 – 27 September 2008 Won world title eliminator |
Vacant Title next held by Odlanier Solís | ||
Vacant Title last held by Alexander Ustinov |
WBA International heavyweight champion 27 March 2010 – December 2010 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by Jean-Marc Mormeck | ||
Vacant Title last held by Grigory Drozd |
WBA International cruiserweight champion 6 July 2014 – 28 November 2014 |
Succeeded by Dmitry Kudryashov | ||
World boxing titles | ||||
Preceded by Marcelo Domínguez |
WBC cruiserweight champion 21 February 1998 – 19 February 2002 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by Wayne Braithwaite |