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The Battle Of The Little GiantsThe Battle of the Little Giants was a boxing event with a deep social impact. Fought on August 21, 1981, at the Caesar's Palace hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, it pitted Wilfredo Gmez, a Puerto Rican who had a record of 32 wins, 0 losses and all his wins by knockout, and who was the world's Jr. Featherweight champion, against the lesser known Salvador Snchez, who hailed from Mexico and was defending his world Featherweight crown. Gmez was the favorite at the betting windows by a landslide. His knockout win streak of 32 fights in a row and Snchez's relative obscurity made him be so. The fight was broadcast to all of the United States and through many Latin American countries. Snchez began by surprising most fans and dropping Gmez 40 seconds into round one. Gmez got up, and came back to take round two. By round three, however, Gmez's eye started to puff, and Snchez started zeroing into that area. Snchez took round four, but Gmez roared back in round five, and had Snchez badly hurt against the ropes in round six. However, by then his right eye was almost closed and his left eye had begun to close too. Snchez took advantage of that and battered Gmez around in round seven. Round eight proved to be the final round. With Gmez almost blinded, Snchez took him to the ropes and landed a combination of punches that almost sent Gmez off the ring. With Gmez down against the ropes, referee Carlos Padilla stepped in and stopped the fight, giving Snchez an eighth round knockout win. In Mexico, a new legend was born. Snchez had, in their eyes, avenged the loss that Gmez had inflicted to Carlos Zarate some years before. He became recognized by many Mexicans and international fans as Mexico's greatest world champion ever, but that moment of glory was short lived, because almost a year after his fight with Gmez, on August 12 of 1982, Snchez was killed in a car accident. Soon, Julio Csar Chvez would replace him in the hearts of many Mexican boxing fans as their greatest fighter ever. In Puerto Rico, it was a moment to mourn for most boxing fans. Many businesses and stores were closed the day after, as Gmez was a national hero to most Puerto Ricans, and he was seen by many as invincible. It took, in the eyes of Puerto Rican boxing fans, 18 years to really avenge Gmez's defeat against Snchez, and that was when Flix Trinidad beat Oscar De La Hoya in 1999. Gmez went into a depression, but he roared back the next year and posted world title wins against many other boxers from there on until he retired in 1989. Among the fighters he would beat later were Lupe Pintor (who also is Mexican) at the Carnival of Champions, and Juan Laporte. Gmez joined the exclusive group of fighters to win titles in three different boxing divisions. It could be said that Snchez, in between the moment he beat Gmez and the moment he died almost a year later, warmed himself to the hearts of many Puerto Ricans. He granted interviews to many Puerto Rican television news shows, and was known for speaking well about Puerto Rico and its people. When Snchez died, news of his death were heard across Latin America, and many people both in Mexico and Puerto Rico were saddened by his passing. His funeral was shown live in Mexico, and in Puerto Rico, a tribute show to him was aired by WAPA-TV five days after his death, featuring his past interviews with that network's sportscasters, his story, and clips of his fights. Gmez himself also became a dear person to the people of Mexico after this fight. Although they knew him as the Mexican beater because of the many other fights he won against Mexican boxers, Gmez showed no ill feelings towards the people of Mexico by offering Snchez flowers after Snchez died, and becoming a frequent visitor to the Snchez family thereafter. On Snchez's small town, there is always a festival to commemorate Snchez's memory every year, around the week of August 12. Gmez has been named Grand Marischal of that festival three times already, and has been a guest of honor the nineteen times it has been celebrated after Snchez's passing. There had always been talks of a rematch between the two before Snchez passed away. What would have happened in a rematch will never be known, but the fact is that both Gmez and Snchez are now together in a place far different from a boxing ring: They are both in the International Boxing Hall Of Fame.
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