Yoelvis Gomez will reunite with his previous trainer.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that the Cuban junior middleweight has parted ways with Joe Goossen and will return to Ismael Salas’ facility in Las Vegas. The move comes shortly after Gomez suffered a ten-round points loss to Marquis Taylor as part of a July 15 Showtime telecast, the one fight where he and Goossen worked together after joining a mass exodus from the Salas Boxing Academy last summer.
“First, I want to thank Joe Goossen for his work with me over the last year,” Gomez said in a quote provided to Boxing Scene. “He has taught me many things that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
“At this time, I have decided to return to where I started and that is Salas Boxing Academy.”
Gomez fought under the guidance of Salas since relocating to the U.S., through his ten-round points win over former title challenger Jorge Cota last May in Glendale, Arizona. Circumstances well beyond his control led to an unfortunate split, after which time his team decided to link up with a Hall of Famer in Goossen. The progress between the two was stalled by injuries and inactivity, as Gomez has fought just once in the past fourteen months.
It resulted in his lone career defeat, as he was dropped and outboxed by Taylor earlier this month at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. A team huddle concluded with the decision to return to his roots.
“The first day I went back to the gym, everyone embraced me with open arms as if I had never left,” Gomez recalled. “I spoke with Salas right after the fight, and he reiterated that one loss doesn’t define my career, and I will come back much stronger and become world champion.”
A new addition to the team will be veteran and noted strength and conditioning coach Larry Wade.
“I have been a fan of Gomez since his first professional fight and I told his promoter Shane Shapiro many times to get me that kid,” said Wade, who has trained star athletes across multiple sports, including 13 former and current major titleholders. “I am a big believer in timing, and the time is now for us to get to work with Yoelvis. I truly believe this kid is a superstar and now we will maximize his full potential.”
An exact timetable for Gomez’s next fight is not immediately known but he will not leave anything to chance once he is set to return to the ring. The immediate sense is that he is already back to the fighter of old and among familiar faces, including countrymen Yordenis Ugas and WBO featherweight titlsit Robeisy Ramirez (13-1, 8KOs), who is fresh off a fifth-round knockout of Satoshi Shimizu to defend his title Tuesday in Tokyo.
“I feel that Salas and I have excellent chemistry and that is something that helps a fighter in the most important moments,” noted Gomez. “As a fellow Cuban, he understands me. Being in the gym with guys like Yordenis Ugas, Robeisy Ramirez, Joe Joyce, Brian Mendoza and many others motivates me every day to train harder.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox