By Tom Price Jr.
After being knocked to the mat late in the first round by Tracy Carlton Thursday at the "Tax Day Rumble" at the Palace Indian Gaming Center in Lemoore, Farmersville product Tania Gomez jumped backed to her feet and wiped the sweat from her face with her glove.
The knockdown was a turning point in the bout, it is when Gomez really went to work. Gomez dominated the four-round fight, attacking her taller opponent by getting inside her long reach and unleashing a flurry of body punches. Gomez won the final three rounds 39-37, 38-37, 38-37.
"I knew I had won that first round but they wouldn't give it to me because she knocked me down, so I knew I needed to dominate the rest of the rounds and I did," Gomez said. "She just kept backing away and I kept attacking."
Numerous times throughout the fight, a retreating Carlton found herself cornered and each time Gomez took full advantage by staying low and delivering a powerful sequence of punches. By the third round fatigue had set in on a noticeably less agile Carlton and a pleased crowd carried Gomez through the four round bout.
"It helps when you are at home," Gomez said of the Palace, the location for two of her first four fights. "When you hear them cheering you on it assures you that all the good things you think you are doing are happening."
Things are really happening for Gomez who improved to 3-1 as a professional with the win and and is ranked No. 17 in the world in the lightweight class. "She is as good as I have ever worked with," her trainer Doug Henderson said. "She never shows any signs of panic and follows instructions perfectly."
