About.... Alfonso Gomez was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Where growing up he dreamed of following in his father footsteps and becoming a professional boxer. He started boxing at the age of 10 and compiled an amateur record of an incredible 80 wins with only 10 losses. In 2001 he turned professional where he decisioned Pedro Antonio Ochoa over four hard fought rounds but his big break came in 2004 when he was picked to take part in a boxing reality show called "The Contender" which was presented by Sugar Ray Leonard and Sylvester Stallone. Although he wasn't an early favourite in the series he showed great heart and skill to finish in third place overall. Since then due to his exciting fighting style, everywhere he fights he is a massive attraction and fills venues from state to state. Since his days in The Contender series he has gone on to beat the likes of hard hitting Martin Concepcion, the always tough Ben Tackie plus his best performance so far in his career stopping the great Arturo Gatti in seven rounds before Gatti's untimely death. Alfonso's professional record at the time of writing stands at 20-4-2. Interview.... So Alfonso, id like to start by saying a big thank you for taking time out to speak to us here at TopClassBoxing and can I just congratulate you on a great performance last time out against Raul Munoz which was one hell of a knockout. What did you know about Raul before the fight? That he had fought good fighters in his career...like Joel Casamayor, Chavez Jr, he also fought Sam Soliman, Enrique Ornelas.. and he went to distance with Yori Boy Campas and Hector Macho Camacho and Dimitry Salita. What was your thinking going into the fight? Did you want to finish the fight that easily or where you looking to get a few rounds under your belt? I definitely wanted to go a few rounds to prepare in a way for my already scheduled Nov 14 fight, but KO’s are unpredictable. Up next for you will be Jesus Soto Karass what do you know of him and what did you make of his performance this weekend against Edvan Dos Santos Barros? I know Karass pretty well. We are both from Mexico but currently reside in Los Angeles, and we've sparred a couple times. His performance was atrocious but I'm sure he'll come in better shape for our fight. Jesus is currently on a fifteen fight unbeaten streak at the moment which includes wins over Vince Philips, David Estrada and Chris Smith how do you approach this fight and what weaknesses do you intend to exploit which many have failed to do? Yes, his 15 win streak proves that he is a good fighter. However, I'm training very hard to box 10 solid rounds and prove he is a 1 dimensional fighter. You may already know but Alfonso, in the Uk you are a big star and  this is due in part by the way you conducted yourself on the reality series "The Contender" You are probably sick of the various questions about the series but I would get email after email if I didn't ask, how do you view that time in your life? It was an awesome experience. I feel that maybe I was still young and taking things for granted so I didn't enjoy it as much as I should of....but looking back I can say that it was a wonderful way for me to show the world my talent and my personality which has gotten me a few doors opened. When I fought in the UK for The Contender Challenge, the people there were exceptional in their fanaticism. They cheer and involved themselves in the fight. Something I hadn’t seen in a long time. UK definitely loves its boxing. You are probably the most active of the contender stars and are ready for any challenge while looking to take on all comers which has seen you face the likes of Arturo Gatti and of course Miguel Cotto, The winner of the contender series one Sergio Mora has taken a different path whereas in my opinion he's had an easier time of things facing no one of real pedigree before winning the world title against an injury stricken Vernon Forrest. Do you believe if you won the contender series it would have given you to an easier route for a world title? I dont know Its all about the personalities and attitudes. Serg is more careful in his decisions without taking too much risks and it has worked for him. However, I'm a risk taker big time as you all saw in the first episode of The Contender. So, maybe yes ...maybe no.... I don't want to say the contender series was everything to do with your rise because your fights do the talking for you. In fact you are one of the very few fighters i can honestly say I have ever witnessed in a dull fight and to me if some of the so called champions around today had some of that heart and bravery we would have some great fights ahead of us, Do you think allot of fighters of our generation are more concerned about their paydays instead of their legacy? Now a days, fighters know that this is a business..its all about the risk/reward factor. Only 1% of fighters get to have a legacy along with big paydays....so I don't blame the other 99% for cashing in on what could be their ONLY big payday. You have a great style in the ring and posses a great jab and move style so why is it important for you to go toe to toe with fighters, Is this your preferred style or do you want to give the fight fans an all out war? Honestly, it's just something inside of me. I train day in and day out in head movement and boxing skills, but somehow in the fights I end up in an all out war with my opponents. I know it's exciting for the fans watching...but I gotta be smarter and stay away from that ...UNLESS it's completely necessary. On to the future and I know you aren’t looking past Karass but You have stated recently that you would love to face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in what would be a classic fight for not only the Mexican fans but the world in general, Is this a fight that still interests you and why? I've called out that kid enough times to know that he doesn't want to fight me. So until he grows up to be a man, I'm not even going to acknowledge that he exists. For me a fight between you and someone like Ricky Hatton would be a great fight which would guarantee an all out war but what would be your dream fight and why? When I was with The Contender we proposed that fight to the Hatton team. But like every great Champion..There is a looooong list of people wanting to fight them, and their schedules are booked for years to come. Maybe now that he had that awful loss against Pacman, he wants to fight again....squaring off against him in the UK would be a dream come true as I know I'm popular there and he's the King there. Recently our sport has been under the microscope because of some very shady judging decisions, did you see the Paulie Malignaggi v Juan Diaz fight and what did you make of the judges decisions and the 118-110 card in particular? This sport is a business, and Paulie knew that he had to KO Diaz in order to get a Draw in Texas. Maybe next time he'll fight in neutral grounds. It definitely puts boxing in a bad light...specially for those comparing it to MMA which we rarely see decisions..its all bout who is the last man standing. You as we all know have faced Miguel Cotto and learnt firsthand what he possesses as a fighter so what do you predict the outcome will be between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel? A lot of web sites claim that this will be an easy fight for the Filipino but do you believe it will be that simple? No fight is easy. Even the Hatton KO wasn't easy as he had to train exactly the same as he's done it before or even harder. But I do feel that Pacquiao has an advantage in speed. In terms of power Pacman has proven to have bombs in both hands. Cotto also has power when he connects...but has to connect against Pacman...and Pacquiao is never in the same spot for too long. It's hard to connect against someone like that. You were the last man to face Arturo Gatti and I know that apart from being his opponent you were also his friend is there anything you would like to tell the readers about Arturo? What was he like as a fighter and as a man outside the fight? Actually, i did have a chance to hang out with him after our fight. He was a gentleman with me and my whole family. he bought me drinks and I bought him a few and he we had a tremendous time. In the ring he was my Idol and fighting him was a huge night of ecstasy. I never had the chance to know him more than that, but his death definitely was a shocker that lasted days. What does the rest of 2009 / 2010 hold for you? I just had a baby girl. Her name is Heidi Luna. I'm looking forward to hit the gym harder and get bigger fights so i can show her that her dad was a bad ass fighter. =) Congratulations on the new arrival that is great news. Is there anything you would like to say to the readers of TopClassBoxing and your fans around the world? It's a pleasure of mine fighting the way I do because I know they aren't yawning when they see me fight. Their love is enormous as I get emails from UK, Latin America, Australia, all over the world. Thank you all so much and I'll continue doing my job as long as there are eyes that want to see me do it. If you want to see more of me, you can always catch my Video Blogs on my youtube channel I cant thank you enough Alfonso for taking time out to speak to us, God bless and I wish you every success for the future. Thank you Paul for the interview and for the patience in my response. God Bless. Interview conducted by: Paul Daley Banner designed by: Wayne Wiliams If you are involved in boxing in some way and have an interest in doing an Interview with us at TopClassBoxing. Please email me your name and email address to Paul@TopClassBoxing.co.uk.