Gomez: The Autobiography

“Gomez was often fighting two opponents –
one in the opposite corner and
one on his shoulder calling him away”.
Steve Bunce

Born, literally, in a car crash, Michael John Armstrong’s life did not get easier. He had no choice but to fight throughout his early life, eventually discovering a talent for boxing and joining the brutal fight game only after dalliances with gangland Manchester and a life of crime.

Even when he forged a promising career as a featherweight, using the sobriquet Gomez, he was unable to shake off his previous existence. He was charged (and acquitted) for murder, clinically died for 48 seconds after being stabbed in Manchester and attempted suicide.

His autobiography, ghost written by experienced sports writer John Ludden, is remarkable and reads more like a fictional account of a life in the ‘Dark Trade’ of boxing.