Alfonso

[pablodel]

Sly called Joey Gilbert "the heart and soul" of the competition (when Joey was making his exit), but for me, the real heart and soul of The Contender is Alfonso.

Excellent point Derevko. I hadn't thought of that until you just mentioned it. I know a few people that watch the show and not many liked Joey, but they all love Alfonso. He was the first one to challenge the toughest opponent. Remember they wanted to put the least experience vs. the least experienced. Then Alfonso said “Well, if he doesn’t want to fight then I’ll fight Peter”. Whoa!!! That was pure cojones!!! That one move made by Alfonso set a trend for the west coast fighters to challenge the toughest fighters, and win, rising the west coast to the top. You can credit Alfonso with it. That one move won him many, many fans all at once. As far as finishing off Ahmed goes as someone else pointed out, it’s not always the best move to try to finish off a larger opponent like Ahmed. While it would have been nice to see a quick flurry, going for that big KO punch can often set you up for a vicious counter punch. Ahmed wasn’t hurt as bad as he made it appear and he might have been baiting him a little too. Who knows? Alfonso you are the man!!! I hope to see you on HBO or somewhere real soon.

[Wolf]

Sly called Joey Gilbert "the heart and soul" of the competition (when Joey was making his exit), but for me, the real heart and soul of The Contender is Alfonso.

I totally agree with you. Alfonso never tried to pull a fast one on the others like Joey did.

I just saw a commentary on a Spanish station about Alfonso. He's sincerity and kindness are so visibile even outside of the Contender show. BTW, the reporters said he won 100K. It's not a million dollars, but it's still something.

[farseer]

what happened to Jesse in the final weeks? he was the one encouraging others..seems he lost lost some fire and belief in himself towards the end...now that the show is over, spill the beans.

you keep in touch with him?

[Rebecca F]

Hey Alfonso -
I had truly hoped it would be you and Peter in the finale. You did great. Your style is atypical of the great Mexican boxers - and you should be quite proud. One of the things you should be most proud of though - is that you are one of a group of guys who came across so well on a reality show (which isn't easy to do) and have not only won over a new crop of boxing fans - but gave some of us "jaded" boxing fans some new guys to watch and enjoy. Boxing's an amazing sport that's been given such negative publicity - it's great to see you guys bring some class back to the media angle of the sport.

Congrats -

PS: I am a boxing enthusiast -- and a female boxer! Not pro - just for sport.

[phat32]

I just saw a commentary on a Spanish station about Alfonso. He's sincerity and kindness are so visibile even outside of the Contender show.

Could not possibly agree more.

Alfonso Gomez wasn't just a rare sort for reality television, I think he's a rare sort in society. You can't fake that level of human decency; I found it genuine and endearing. Alfonso Gomez is the real The Real Deal.

I hope to hear about great things happening for him in the future.

Way to go, Alfonso, for doing your community, your culture and your sport proud!

[pebbs]

go alfonso! i'm glad you won the 200K, i'm sure it will help you & your family.. you were our favorite to win it all..my bf & i just loved watching your matches, and your great heart & personality shone through in the episodes.. we'll be rooting for you in the future, too.. good luck with your boxing career!