On Saturday, November 12, Eduardo Gomez won the belt at the 1-day International Boxing Federation (IBF) competition in Reno, Nevada.

Gomez has been in many boxing exhibitions, but this was only his second amateur competition. At his first in Las Vegas, he and his opponent went three rounds, but he lost in a split decision. He did all that while suffering from a torn ligament in his wrist and some problems with his knee.

Gomez got involved in boxing originally because of his brother, Javier. After spending three years practicing Mixed Martial Arts, the gym they were connected with closed down. Javier chose JL gym, but Eduardo did not like it because it was more of a commercial gym. Then he went to Old School Boxing near Travis Air Force Base for a while, but his coach left that facility and started training students in his garage.

Gomez credits both his brother and his coach, Jose Barbosa, who kept him motivated and got him set up for the competitions. While his brother had to step down from the sport because of his commitment to the Carpenters’ Union, Gomez is looking forward to getting back into the ring with more opponents and he plans to win the next time as well.