▲ Professional boxer Wilfredo Gomez
Wilfredo Gomez, the legendary Puerto Rican professional boxer nicknamed "Bazooka" who secured 42 of his 44 career wins (95.45%) by knockout, passed away on October 10 in Puerto Rico, the World Boxing Council (WBC) announced.
Gomez's son stated that his father passed away at the age of 70 while hospitalized for respiratory complications.
Born in 1956, the late boxer won the bantamweight gold medal at the 1974 Havana World Championships before turning professional that same year. Following a draw in his debut, he went on a 32-fight consecutive knockout streak.
Gomez captured the WBC super bantamweight title by defeating South Korea's Yum Dong-kyun in a title match held in Puerto Rico on May 21, 1977.
At the time, Yum knocked Gomez down just 30 seconds into the first round, but suffered a broken right thumb during the match and ultimately lost by a 12th-round knockout.
Gomez subsequently defended his title with 17 consecutive knockout victories.
This stands as the record across all boxing weight classes.
Notably, his fifth-round knockout victory over Mexico's Carlos Zarate in October 1978 remains famous.
At the time, Gomez held a record of 21 wins (21 KOs) and 1 draw, while Zarate was undefeated in 52 fights (51 KOs).
His professional career record was 48 fights with 44 wins (42 KOs), 3 losses, and 1 draw.
He reigned as a three-division world champion, winning titles in the super bantamweight, featherweight, and super featherweight divisions.
Gomez was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995.
He was ranked 13th among the "100 Greatest Punchers of All Time" selected by the boxing magazine The Ring.
After retiring in 1989, he was arrested by police multiple times for drug-related and other offenses, and had been receiving hospital treatment until recently.
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman paid tribute, saying, "Gomez is one of the greatest icons in boxing history."
(Photo: Screengrab from WBC Instagram, Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.