Boxing: Gomez determined to ride wave of good luck

Michael Gomez knows exactly what it is like to have bad luck on both sides of the ropes but his career finally looks like it is moving smoothly in the right direction.

Gomez was born 26 years ago in the back of a taxi as it rushed his pregnant mother to a Dublin hospital, and three years ago he suffered a blood disorder that led to him being clinically dead for 48 seconds. However, last month he won the World Boxing Union super featherweight title and tonight he defends it for the first time.

"There was a time when I was unable to laugh at my bad luck but now that I'm turning things around I'm starting to see just how much good luck I have also had," claimed Gomez.

Tonight he meets Uganda's Justin Juuko at the Kingsway Sports Centre in Widnes, in defence of the WBU belt and he knows that an easy win is unlikely.

Juuko was once a contender to avoid and a participant in several fights against some of the world's very best boxers but there are clear signs that he is well past his sell-by date.

However, Juuko, who is now 31, has recently returned to his home town of Kampala after living for long periods in both London and Las Vegas. The return of the prodigal son has, according to reports, given Juuko a brand new lease of life.

Gomez knows that the seven defeats that Juuko has suffered does not mean that he will have an easy night.

"To be honest I stopped believing in easy fights a long, long time ago and if anybody expects Juuko to come over here and fall over like a lot of fighters have done in recent months then they must be mad. He is a good fighter, a world-class campaigner and I will have to be at my best to beat him,'' added Gomez.