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Danny Gomez rebounds to bring Miami its first national boxing title since 2018

Danny Gomez (left) stands face-to-face with Jordan King (right) in the center of the ring at the NCBA championship on April 12
Danny Gomez (left) stands face-to-face with Jordan King (right) in the center of the ring at the NCBA championship on April 12

Danny Gomez stood side-by-side with Jordan King on April 12 awaiting the final decision of his collegiate boxing career. 

The senior political science major from Miami University met King, a boxer from the University of Southern California, once in November. Gomez lost a split decision to the 2024 defending national champion, but he would earn a shot at redemption when he faced King for the 125 pound National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA) title. 

After three rounds, the referee held Gomez’s hand up and announced his victory by a 4-1 decision, making him the first Miami boxer to win a national title in seven years. He ran to coach Eric Buller for a hug after three years with the Miami Boxing Club. 

Forty-eight hours later, Gomez was back in Oxford and in the classroom, but the emotions from winning the title lingered with him.

“It was a surreal experience,” Gomez said. “I don’t really know how to put it into words, but I was high on life for a couple days just off of that.”

Photo by provided by Eric Buller | The Miami Student

Danny Gomez sits in his corner before the next round against Jordan King at the NCBA championship on April 12

When he started out at Miami in 2021, Gomez didn’t know many people. He arrived in Oxford from New York, and throughout his first year, he struggled to find his place. 

During his sophomore year, his friend introduced him to the Miami Boxing Club. Despite never being into boxing beforehand, Gomez began dedicating significant hours each week in Chestnut Fieldhouse, where the club practices. 

“[My first] year, I didn’t really find my group,” Gomez said. “Sophomore year, I found the club. I had a friend tell me about it, and since then, I’ve been here almost every day. [It’s] something that’s changed my life since being here.”

Something that drew Gomez to Miami Boxing was the openness from Buller and other club leaders. The club accepts people from various experiences, with some members having boxed throughout high school and some having never put on gloves. 

“We don’t have tryouts or anything,” Gomez said. “Some people just want to get a workout in, some people want to spar … Then we have people who [have] been coming in consistently and say, ‘Hey, maybe I want to compete,’ and we help put them on that path.”

Every boxer starts by learning the fundamentals against a punching bag. Buller said that for beginners, it’s important to learn the art of boxing first before hitting someone else or getting hit. 

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Gomez spent his sophomore year boxing recreationally, but he took the jump to sparring going into his junior year. Looking back, Buller said he realized that Gomez transitioned from someone who wasn’t certain about boxing to a natural talent. 

“That’s when things really changed for him,” Buller said. “I think he realized that he’s actually pretty good at this sport, and that’s something that every athlete [needs] to realize: ‘Hey, am I good at this or not?’”

His gradual improvement eventually led Gomez to a victory in the 2024 Midwest regional championships, earning him a spot in the national tournament. His first-round bye set him up against Leonardo Camarcho from the Air Force Academy in the semifinals. 

Buller said that Gomez held his own, and he even thought the decision should have gone to Gomez, but Camarcho moved on to the finals off a 3-2 decision. Camarcho faced King in the finals, where the latter took a 5-0 decision for the 125 pound title. 

Despite the loss, Gomez and Buller realized the potential Gomez had going into his final year at Miami. 

His record from his junior year made it difficult to find opponents from the Midwest during his senior year. He started the year with a split-decision loss against King at the New York Athletic Club in November. 

His next loss came against another future opponent when Gomez faced Alex Leon, a boxer from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in January. Gomez went unopposed in the Midwest regionals, allowing him to enter the national tournament with a rematch against Leon in the quarter finals. 

“When I first started boxing here, I told myself, ‘I want to win a national championship,’” Gomez said. “As I got closer to it this year, I realized how hard it is fighting against the top tier guys … Going into nationals, I didn’t know how [I was] going to beat two guys I already lost to.”

His worries proved inconsequential when Gomez took a unanimous 5-0 decision over Leon in the quarter finals on April 10. He continued his success with another unanimous decision in the semifinals on April 11 against Duong Tran from the Air Force Academy.

With these two wins, Gomez sent himself to a rematch against King for the 125 pound title on April 12. 

After one round, Gomez held onto a 3-2 lead. He held onto the judges’ decision through the second round.

Following the third round, the boxers returned to their corners and removed their head gear before meeting in the center of the ring. Gomez bounced in anticipation of the judges’ decision, his final one as a collegiate boxer. 

The announcer declared Gomez’s victory by a 4-1 decision, closing his season as a national champion, Miami’s first since Adan Salguero won a title in 2018. 

“That was inspirational,” said rising junior political science major Amari Jenkins, a boxer in the club. “It’s like a stepping stone. It pushes the [younger guys] more.”

Photo by provided by Eric Buller | The Miami Student
Jordan King (left) and Danny Gomez (right) pose for a photo after the NCBA championship against each other on April 12

The belt itself wasn’t the only accomplishment for Gomez. He said winning the title brought his career to a good end, but the opponents he rematched and the way he won impressed him even more. 

“Winning the belt was cool, and it was a great conclusion to my career here at Miami,” Gomez said, “but it also meant a lot to me [with] overcoming the adversity and proving to myself that I can come back and beat two guys that I already lost to.”

Gomez graduated from Miami in May, but his mark on the Miami Boxing Club will last forever. Buller said he hopes to promote the club’s achievements next year to grow the program, and he hopes Gomez sticks with the sport in some capacity, whether that’s training or coaching. 

“His run at Nationals is one that I’m going to talk to people about,” Buller said. “I honestly believe he had the hardest draw at Nationals … To watch him day after day continue to have the success that he had, to dominate guys in the ring the way that he did, [was] so much fun to watch.”

Contributing reporting done by Eliot Geho

@kethanbabu_04

babukc2@miamioh.edu

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