José Gómez was a classic middleweight boxer who won the gold medal at the 1980 Moskva Olympics. He also was the winner at the 1978 World Championships, the 1979 Pan American Games, and the 1978 Central American and Caribbean Games. He was the champion at the Playa Giron de Camagüey in 1978-79. Gómez was Cuban national champion in 1977-80 and 1982-83. He won the Cordova Cardin tournament for six consecutive years, from 1977-82.
Gómez was in a car accident shortly before the 1980 Olympics. He was injured but was able to compete at Moskva and win the gold medal. Boxing experts, however, maintained that he was never again the same dominant boxer and he did suffer a few defeats in 1982-83, notably to Bernardo Comas at the Playa Giron tournament. Gómez retired when he was only 26-years-old.
Cuba