Wilfredo Gómez RiveraNo radicarán cargos contra exboxeador Wilfredo Gómez
El Nuevo Día (2015-04-18). Retrieved on 2017-07-14. (; born October 29, 1956), sometimes referred to as Bazooka Gómez, is a Puerto Rican former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

and three weight world champion. He is frequently mentioned among the best Puerto Rican boxers of all time by sports journalists and analysts, along with Félix Trinidad,

Miguel Cotto Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win quadruple champion, world titles in fo ...

Wilfred Benítez Wilfred "Wilfredo" Benítez (born September 12, 1958) is an American-born Puerto Rican former professional boxer and the youngest world champion in the sport's history. Earning his first of three career world titles in separate weight division ...

, Esteban De Jesús, Edwin Rosario, and Carlos Ortíz. His seventeen consecutive knockouts in championship defenses as a junior featherweight is a record for all boxing divisions. He was ranked number 13 on The Ring magazine's list of the "100 greatest punchers of all time". In 1995, Gómez was inducted into the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

Biography

Gómez was born in a poor area of Las Monjas of Hato Rey in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

, the son of Jacobo Gómez and Paula Rivera. Gómez himself reportedly used a

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

as means of transportation when he was young, and he sold candy to earn pocket money before becoming an amateur boxer.

Amateur career and professional debut

Gómez won the gold medal at the 1974

Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for 32 countries and ...

held in

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, and 1974 World Championships in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. He also competed in the 1972

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, getting eliminated by an

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ian rival in the Olympic's first round of bouts. He compiled an overall record of 96 wins and 3 defeats as an amateur boxer. Because of his family's economic situation, he decided not to wait for the 1976

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada, opting to begin making money right after the 1974 World Amateur Boxing championship instead. Coming from

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, he settled for less money and exposure from the American media, and moved to

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, where he began to tour all of Central America in hopes of finding matches. His professional debut came in

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

, where he fought to a draw with Jacinto Fuentes.

Professional career

After this inauspicious debut, he reeled off a streak of 32 consecutive knockouts including wins over Fuentes, who was dispatched in 2 rounds in a rematch, and future world champion Alberto Davila, who lasted 9 rounds before being defeated. His 32 consecutive knockouts place him in a third place tie with Deontay Wilder and behind LaMar Clark (44) and Billy Fox (43) for the all-time knockout streak. Gómez's knockout streak caught the eye of the WBC and Lineal

Super Bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanct ...

champion Dong Kyun Yum of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, who travelled to

to defend his crown against Gómez. Yum had a promising start, dropping Gómez 30 seconds into the bout, but Gómez picked himself up and eventually won the crown, his first world title, with a 12th-round knockout. His second defense took him to Tokyo, where he beat former world champion Royal Kobayashi in three rounds. Kobayashi had lasted 5 rounds vs Alexis Argüello. Next was Sagat Petchyindee in a small city of

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. He lasted two rounds. Petchyndee later became a world champion Thai and kick-boxer and famous actor in Thailand. The bout with Petchyndee was preceded by a large tragedy when a column collapsed inside the stadium before the evening's main event; ten people lost their lives and an estimated 300 were injured, but the contest's organizers nevertheless decided to continue with the day's boxing show. Gómez's streak reached 32 knockouts in a row, including what is generally considered to be his biggest victory ever, a five-round defeat of bantamweight champion Carlos Zárate, who was 55–0 with 54 knockout wins coming into their San Juan bout. Also included in that streak was future world champion Leo Cruz, beaten in 13 rounds at San Juan and Derrik Holmes, knocked out in five rounds in a fight attended, among others, by

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...

, Carl Weathers and Alexis Arguello.YouTube
YouTube. Retrieved on 2017-07-14. After recording his 32nd. knockout win in a row, he moved up in weight to face the world featherweight champion Salvador Sánchez of Mexico. He lost to Salvador Sanchez by 8th-round TKO. Hoping to get a rematch with Sanchez, Gómez went back to the

super bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanct ...

division, where he got a dispense from the WBC to make two preparation bouts before defending his title again. He did so and won two non-title bouts, both by knockout, one in the 2nd round over Jose Luis Soto, who was a stablemate of Julio César Chávez back in

Culiacán Culiacán, officially Culiacán Rosales, is a city in northwestern Mexico, the capital and largest city of both Culiacán Municipality and the state of Sinaloa. The city was founded on 29 September 1531 by the Spanish conquistadors Lázaro de ...

, Mexico. Wins over future world champ Juan 'Kid' Meza, knocked out in six in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

, and Juan Antonio Lopez, knocked out in ten as part of the Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney undercard followed. But all chances of a rematch with Sanchez were dashed when Sanchez died in a car crash outside

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

the morning of August 12, 1982. Boxing fans across Latin America mourned the tragedy. Gómez, who was training to defend against Mexican Roberto Rubaldino only five days later, took a quick trip to Mexico to offer Sanchez flowers and then returned to

the same afternoon. He beat Rubaldino by knockout in 8 rounds and made one more title defense, against the Mexican bantamweight world champ Lupe Pintor in the Carnival of Champions in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, winning by knockout in 14 rounds. The Pintor contest was the only time a Gómez fight was showcased on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

, which at the time exclusively showcased the largest boxing fights, much like the Pay Per View system does currently. By the time he was done with the Junior Featherweights, Gómez had established a division record of 17 defenses, and a world record of most defenses in a row won by knockout, all his defenses finishing before the established distance limit.

Featherweight division

He then re-tried winning the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

title and this time, he achieved his dream, winning his second world title by dethroning Juan Laporte, a fellow Puerto Rican who had won the title left vacant after Sanchez died. He beat Laporte by a 12-round unanimous decision. This time, however, he didn't enjoy a lengthy title reign. Ahead on all scorecards, Gómez was the victim of a rally by Azumah Nelson of

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

who knocked him out in 11 rounds in San Juan, December 8, 1984. Gómez wanted either a rematch with Nelson or a shot at WBA and Lineal Junior Lightweight world champion Rocky Lockridge of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, whichever came first. Lockridge was first to offer Gómez a try, and the 2 battled a closely scored 15 round bout in San Juan, with Gómez being given a majority 15-round decision, which many experts have said Lockridge deserved, but also which in the opinion of most who saw it live, was a justified decision. Around this time, he began a shortly lived career as a boxing broadcaster. He specifically covered the Victor Callejas-

Loris Stecca Loris Stecca (born 30 March 1960) is an Italian former world champion boxer. He is the older brother of former featherweight world champion of boxing, Maurizio Stecca. Professional career Stecca held the WBA super bantamweight title for thre ...

rematch from

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for Puerto Rico's WAPA-TV, won by Callejas by sixth round technical knockout, and some local matches involving

Alberto Mercado Alberto Mercado Monserrate (born January 2, 1961) is a former Jr. Featherweight boxing, boxer who was on the verge of fighting for a world title at least twice in his career. Amateur boxing career Mercado started boxing as an amateur at the ag ...

and Juan Carazo in Puerto Rico for Tele-Once. This reign also came to an end quick, Gómez being handed his 3rd loss at the hands of young Alfredo Layne by knockout in 9 rounds. Layne lost the title in his own first defense to South Africa's Brian Mitchell, and it became obvious Gómez's best years had gone by, so he retired after this fight.

Last fights and retirement

Gómez tried a comeback in 1988 and 1989, but after winning 2 more bouts by knockout, he realized boxing wasn't in his heart anymore and retired for good. He later moved to

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, where he ran into

drug A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...

problems, causing him trouble with the law and spending some months in

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...

. He attended a rehabilitation center in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. Gómez rebounded and is now back in Puerto Rico, where he has managed to stay off drugs. He helped Hector Camacho with the training of Camacho's son Héctor Camacho Jr., who was a boxer in the Jr Welterweight division. In 1998, Gómez became a born-again

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. On May 18, 2003, Gómez returned to Panama, where he was received by friends Roberto Duran and

Eusebio Pedroza Eusebio Pedroza (March 2, 1956 – March 1, 2019) was a Panamanian boxer who held the World Boxing Association, WBA and lineal featherweight championship from 1978 to 1985, having defended the title against 18 different contenders, more than any ...

, among others. In a message geared towards Panamanians, he expressed thanks to that country, calling it his second country and saying, among other things "I'm very motivated now that I will return to Puerto Rico, and no one should be surprised if I buy an apartment in Panama and move my family here". However, he bought a house in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

in 2006. Gómez had a record of 44 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw, with 42 knockout wins and all three losses also by knockout. In 1978, he was named Boxing Illustrated's Fighter of the Year. He is now a member of the

. Gómez was voted as the Greatest Super Bantamweight Ever in 2014 by the Houston Boxing Hall Of Fame. The HBHOF is a voting body composed totally of current and former fighters. In 2003 a

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

entitled ''Bazooka: The Battles of Wilfredo Gómez'' was produced by Cinemar Films, the documentary was directed by Mario Diaz and was filmed in New York City.

Professional boxing record

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

* WBC super bantamweight champion (122 lbs) * WBC featherweight champion (126 lbs) * WBA super featherweight champion (130 lbs)

''The Ring'' magazine titles

* ''The Ring'' super bantamweight champion (122 lbs) * ''The Ring'' super featherweight champion (130 lbs)

Personal life

Gómez has three daughters: Jennifer (who is Panamanian by birth), Gina and Liz Irina (Venezuelan by birth) and one son, Wilfredo Junior. He is good friends with Panamanian boxing legend

Roberto Durán Roberto Carlos Durán Samaniego (born June 16, 1951) is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001. He held quadruple champion, world championships in four weight classes: Lightweight, welterweight, light middleweigh ...

. and former Puerto Rico Boxing Commissioner and boxing champion Victor Callejas. Gómez declared that Fighting Harada was his idol as a child. Gómez is married to Carolina Gamboa. On April 17, 2015, Gómez was arrested by Puerto Rican police after allegedly hitting his 59-year-old companion, a lady with whom he had been living for ten months. He was released after she refused to raise charges against him. British boxer Michael Gomez adapted his last name from Armstrong to Gomez as a homage to Wilfredo, who was his childhood idol. A biographical book about Gómez, written by author Christian Giudice and named "A Fire Burns Within", was released May 9, 2016. Gómez was hospitalized on May 21, 2018 in Cupey, Puerto Rico, suffering from a

pulmonary edema Pulmonary edema (British English: oedema), also known as pulmonary congestion, is excessive fluid accumulation in the tissue or air spaces (usually alveoli) of the lungs. This leads to impaired gas exchange, most often leading to shortness ...

and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. On March 2022, Gomez was rescued by his wife Carolina Gamboa, son Wilfredo Jr., and by friend, fellow former world boxing champion Victor Callejas, from his ex lover, identified as Diana Sevilla Villalobos, who apparently was holding him hostage at his Venus Gardens, Cupey (San Juan) house. Gomez was taken to a psychiatric hospital. Gomez subsequently recovered and returned to his wife by choice.

Honors

Both the Wilfredo Gómez boxing gym and the Complejo Deportivo Wilfredo Gómez (Wilfredo Gómez Sporting Complex) in Guaynabo are named after him.

References

External links

* *
Wilfredo Gómez profile
at Cyber Boxing Zone

at International Boxing Hall of Fame , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gómez, Wilfredo 1956 births Living people Puerto Rican male boxers Boxers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Converts to Christianity Puerto Rican Christians International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Boxers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for Puerto Rico AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Boxing commentators World Boxing Council champions World Boxing Association champions The Ring (magazine) champions World super-bantamweight boxing champions World featherweight boxing champions World super-featherweight boxing champions 20th-century American sportsmen