Puerto Rico says goodbye to Wilfredo 'Bazooka' Gomez, three-weight world champion dead at 69

Wilfredo "Bazooka" Gomez, the Puerto Rican three-weight world champion and one of the hardest punchers in boxing history, has died at the age of 69. Gomez died on the evening of Saturday, October 10, and on Thursday, October 15, thousands of fans, family members and sports figures said goodbye to him at a public farewell at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, the World Boxing Council (WBC) reported.

How the news broke

According to the WBC, Gomez died at about 9:00 p.m. after spending two weeks in hospital with respiratory complications. His son, Wilfredo Gomez Jr., confirmed the death. No official cause of death has been published. Paco Valcarcel, former president of the WBO, also announced it on social media: "He passed away a few hours ago, the one to whom I owe having entered the great family of international boxing. Rest in peace, my eternal champion Wilfredo 'Bazooka' Gomez."

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman called Gomez "one of the greatest icons in the history of the sport." The WBC's statement added: "Universally recognized as one of the greatest ring legends of all time and a ruthless brawler who holds the historic record of 17 consecutive super bantamweight title defenses - all won by knockout - Wilfredo Gomez leaves behind an indelible legacy both inside and outside the ring."

Farewell at the Clemente

The family and the Municipality of San Juan held the posthumous tribute at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum, the venue where Gomez won his first world title, El Nuevo Dia and Fightnews reported. It was open to the public. "We must pay tribute to him at the Clemente, the venue where he starred in several of his unforgettable and deeply significant bouts," San Juan mayor Miguel Romero said. The WBC described a day of mourning in San Juan, with the Puerto Rican flag at half-mast.

A career built on knockouts

Gomez won the WBC super bantamweight title on May 21, 1977, at the age of 20, beating South Korea's Dong-kyun Yum at the Clemente. He went on to make 17 straight defenses of that belt, all by knockout. He later won the WBC featherweight title and the WBA super featherweight title, becoming a three-weight world champion.

According to BBC Sport, Gomez had 48 professional fights and won 44, 42 of them by knockout. His best-known wins came against Mexico's Carlos Zarate, who was 52-0 when Gomez stopped him in San Juan in 1978, as well as Lupe Pintor, Juan Laporte and Rocky Lockridge. His two biggest defeats came at featherweight, when he was knocked out by Salvador Sanchez in 1981 and by Azumah Nelson in 1984, both in WBC title fights.

Gomez was also a star amateur. He boxed at the 1972 Olympics when he was only 15, and two years later won gold at the first World Amateur Championships in Cuba, BBC Sport noted. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995.

Legacy

Puerto Rico has a long line of world champions, from Felix Trinidad to Miguel Cotto, but Gomez is often named as one of the island's greatest. Many historians rank him as the best super bantamweight (122 pounds) of all time. His streak of 17 knockout defenses at 122 pounds remains one of the most impressive title runs the sport has seen.