He Tasted First Pro Loss: Now, How Will Eddie Gomez Deal With It Dec. 6 in BK?

Losing, not a feeling Eddie Gomez is all that familiar with.

He fought some 80 times as an amateur, lost once, back in 2008.

Seventeen times as a pro, and for the first time, the other guy had his hand raised at the end of the clash.

Hey, happens to most of the best of ‘em….

But now we see how the junior middleweight deals. Now we see if the kid from the Bronx, who’s got, no doubt, some nice tools in his arsenal, how he deals with it. Does he sulk and refuse to acknowledge he did anything wrong. Or does he go home, lick wounds, and then ponder the new reality.

Sounds to me like Gomez pretty much has his head screwed on straight post-loss.

Now, he’s just 22, so…I mean, I was not even half a finished product at 22. Wisdom, lol. I thought I knew better, even best. But Gomez seems open to knowing that there are things he can improve on, so the next time he loses, it won’t be for the same reasons.

Now, some stuff you can’t affect. Like, going into the June 6 fight, which was UD10 loss on ShoBox to Francisco Santana (19-2-1 entering), Eddie’s head was adrift. “I had personal stuff leading up to the fight,” he told me Monday about the scrap which unfolded in California. “I had too much stuff going. My mind wasn’t able to focus,” said the 154 pounder who will fight on Dec. 6 on a Golden Boy card at Barclays Center. “We got a name, but we’re holding off till it’s confirmed. Basically, I have to get back on my feet, get back into a rhythm.”

“The loss was a little tough, but I got over it,” he told me. “And now, we clear, we good.”

Regarding the loss to Santana, what did he learn? “I felt like the fight could have gone either way. We fought in his home town, they made him the winner. But I could have thrown more punches, kept my hands up. I got caught with some stupid shots. My reflexes weren’t really there. We’re working on cleaning up my defense, and using my jab more. It was a good learning experience. I’m working on my mistakes.”

That’s some sweet music to backers of a young fighter. Acknowledge. Course, we all got our pride, and that can be hard to tamp down. We can be stubborn, and in a fighterm, we do like a good degree of that fierce pride.

He seems to have an open mind to the fact that he has holes to fill. That has to make trainers Eddie Gomez Sr., and Jose Talavera and Julian Rodriguez’ dad Alex pleased…

Another factor has emerged that could help make or break Gomez in the near future, depending upon how he juggles. Daughter Kaylee was born Sept. 29. So there’s a realization that he isn’t an island. “Fatherhood is going great, I know I have to do take care for her. And she’s always eating, yelling, punching.” Hmm, sound like anyone you know? “She’s got a little attitude!”

Like mom or dad?

“Both!”

Boxrec says 16-10 James Winchester, in theory a full step down from Santana, will meet Gomez on Dec. 6. So, just to reiterate, what Gomez will be there in Brooklyn?

“I have a different mentality. I am a completely different fighter now, more focused. I will be happy to be at Barclays, fight at home, have family and friends there. It will be a packed house.”

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