Wilfredo “Bazooka” Gómez, a Puerto Rican boxer and three-time professional world champion, died on the evening of Saturday, 10 October, at the age of 69. His son confirmed the death.
What is known about the death
According to a WBC statement, reported among others by the Middle Easy website, Gómez died at around 9:00 p.m. local time, after two weeks in hospital due to respiratory complications. His son, Wilfredo Gómez Jr., confirmed the news to Telemundo. The information was also published by The Ring magazine, which also wrote about the two-week hospitalisation with breathing problems.
The WBC statement contains no further medical details, so the exact cause of death has not been officially given. The family was reportedly to announce funeral arrangements. According to BoxingScene, relatives had spoken in recent weeks about the boxer’s deteriorating health. In 2013, Gómez fought for his life against a lung infection.
Who was Wilfredo Gómez
He was born on 29 October 1956 in San Juan, and would have turned 70 in three weeks. According to 1news.az, in 1974 he became the first Puerto Rican to win a world championship in amateur boxing. He fought as a professional from 1974 to 1989. His record stands at 44 wins (42 by knockout), 3 losses and 1 draw.
Career and record of defences
He won the WBC super bantamweight title on 21 May 1977, stopping Korean Dong Kyun Yuma in the 12th round in San Juan. He defended it 17 times and ended every defence by knockout. The power of his punches earned him the nickname “Bazooka”. He later also held the WBC featherweight title and the WBA super featherweight title. He beat, among others, Carlos Zarate, Lupe Pintor and Juan Laporte. He lost to Salvador Sánchez in 1981 and to Azumah Nelson three years later. In 1995, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Tributes
Paco Valcárcel, former WBO president, announced Gómez’s death on social media. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman also published a tribute. According to BoxingScene, Gómez remained a national treasure of Puerto Rico until the end of his life.
For Polish fans, he is above all a figure from the history of world boxing in the 1970s and 1980s, and his record of 17 title defences by knockout is still cited in rankings of the best boxers of that era.
Komentarze