Wilfredo "Bazooka" Gómez cause of death: the Puerto Rican boxing legend dies at 69
Set a world record of 17 consecutive title defenses by knockout in any division
Wilfredo ‘Bazooka’ Gómez, considered by many to be the greatest Puerto Rican boxer and who set a world record of 17 consecutive knockout title defenses in any division, has died at the age of 69.
According to what Wilfredo Gómez Jr. told the Telemundo news network this Sunday, his father, also known as ‘The Child of Las Monjas’ because of where he was raised in San Juan, died last night, Saturday.
The former boxer, a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, had been hospitalized for the past two weeks due to respiratory complications.
The family of the immortal Puerto Rican champion will provide additional details this Sunday.
Born in San Juan on October 29, 1956, Gómez was a world champion in three divisions (super bantamweight, featherweight, and super featherweight) and built one of the most distinguished careers in Puerto Rican boxing.
At the amateur level, Gómez represented Puerto Rico at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games and then won the gold medal at the first World Championship in Havana in 1974.
He then turned professional and won world titles at 122 (55 kilograms), 126 (57 kilograms), and 130 pounds (59 kilograms).
"Gómez became the World Boxing Organization (WBO) super bantamweight champion on May 21, 1977, when he defeated South Korean Dong Kyun Yum by knockout in the twelfth round in a bout held at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan.
From that day on, Gómez began his string of knockout victories, which included defeating Mexican Carlos Zárate, also a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Gómez lost his unbeaten record to fellow Mexican Salvador Sánchez on September 21, 1981, in Las Vegas (Nevada, United States).
A rematch between the two was expected, but Sánchez died in a car accident the following year.
Gómez retired in 1987 with a victory over Mario Salazar by technical knockout in the second round.
In July 2018, Gómez was honored as the ‘Honorary Champion of the World Boxing Organization’.
Gómez was honored at a family event held in Arecibo (north), which was attended by other former Puerto Rican world champions such as Ángel ‘Cholo’ Espada, Alfredo ‘el Salsero’ Escalera, Alex ‘El Nene’ Sánchez, John John Molina, Iván Calderón, Daniel ‘La Cobra’ Jiménez, Nelson Dieppa, and Víctor ‘Luvi’ Callejas.
He retired with a professional record of 44-3-1 with 42 victories by knockout, 17 of them in title defenses, and is considered one of the greatest fighters of all time.
