Former WBC Superfeather weight champion, “The Professor” Azumah Nelson, has revealed that his 1984 clash with Wilfredo Gomez in San Juan, Puerto Rico is the best of his career.
The bout was the 21st of Nelson’s career and it was the one that made him a world champion for the first time in his boxing life.
Speaking on his YouTube page on Thursday, Nelson recounted the memories of the bout and detailed the challenges he and his team went through as they got ready for the bout.
“I was hungry for the title but the people in charge were playing hide-and-seek with me until we went to Puerto Rico for the fight.
I remember that two beautiful Puerto Rican girls came to knock at my door and they said they wanted to see me. The security man asked if I was expecting someone and I said no. He asked the ladies to leave but they refused.
Eventually, the hotel security came to take them away. I knew this was a set up because they were sent to destroy me but my God was bigger than those temptations.”
He also revealed how his manager, Carl King, was injured with a knife after they asked the air condition in the dressing room to be turned off because he needed to be warm before the bout.
The bout
Nelson stated that his only route to a victory was a knockdown especially looking at the advantage Gomez would enjoy as the home favourite.
“I knew if we went the full distance, I would not win no matter how well I fought. So, all I had to do was to knock him out.”
2 minutes 58 seconds into the 11th round, Nelson sent Gomez to the floor with a flash right hook but the Puerto Rican beat the count and got back up.
But Nelson swooped in again and landed a series of punches that knocked Gomez out completely.
At the time of the knockout, Nelson was behind on the judges’ cards.
Nelson went to capture the featherweight title two more times before he retired in 1998 with a professional record of 39 wins, 6 losses and 2 draws, with 28 knockouts.
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By: Nathan Quao/citifmonline.com/Ghana