Knocked Over By A Ferocious Feather

When the fight moved from the ropes toward the center of the ring, Sanchez showed no inclination to attack Gomez, instead keeping him at bay by flicking jabs at his swollen eyes. It might have looked as if Sanchez was just letting Gomez wear himself out were it not for the faint smile on the champion's face. Sanchez was toying with his opponent, patently having a good time.

A telling moment came at the end of the seventh round. Even though the round was perhaps Gomez' best, he had trouble getting back to his corner, setting off a spasm of activity by his handlers. Across the way sat Sanchez, smiling as if enjoying the scene.

The battered and bleeding Gomez tried to press Sanchez in the eighth round, but he couldn't get close enough to do any damage. Then, in a clinch, Sanchez looked at referee Carlos Padilla as if to ask if he really wanted the fight to go on. When Padilla didn't act, Sanchez did. Four hard left hooks to the body and a right uppercut to the head put Gomez against the ropes. Seconds later Sanchez set Gomez up with another left and followed with a thunderous right. Gomez began to go down. Padilla was still reluctant to stop the fight, but WBC President Jos� Sulaim�n was waving his arms from ringside, so the referee ended it one punch before Gomez might have landed in Sulaim�n's lap. Sanchez exploded with joy, leaping all over the ring, showing more movement than he had during the fight. By now the loser's eyes were almost completely shut. It was later disclosed that in addition to the cut near his right eye, Gomez also had a fractured right cheekbone.

Afterward, Sanchez said that he was happy with his victory but disappointed that the fight didn't go the scheduled 15 rounds. When asked why, he said, "Because I wanted to punish him, to beat him for 15 rounds."

If getting beat up as a kid made Sanchez that hungry, heaven help the rest of the fighters he finds on his plate.