Boxing legend Wilfredo 'Bazooka' Gómez dies – three-weight world champion
Puerto Rico's Wilfredo Gómez has died aged 69. According to the WBC, he defended his super bantamweight title 17 times in a row, every time by knockout.
Graphic: TERRA WORLD NEWS (own graphic based on the sources listed)
Wilfredo 'Bazooka' Gómez has died. The Puerto Rican passed away at the weekend aged 69, BBC Sport and Boxing News report; according to the WBC he had been in hospital for two weeks. Gómez boxed at the 1972 Olympics aged just 15, became a world champion in three weight classes and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995.
He won the WBC super bantamweight title in 1977. According to the WBC, his 17 consecutive title defences, all by knockout, are a record for the division. His biggest wins included Carlos Zárate, Lupe Pintor, Juan Laporte – for the WBC featherweight title in 1984 – and Rocky Lockridge, from whom he took the WBA super featherweight title. He lost to Salvador Sánchez, Azumah Nelson and Alfredo Layne. His record: 44 wins, 42 by knockout, three defeats and one draw.
"Wilfredo Gómez, one of the greatest fighters of all time, is now resting in peace," wrote WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán. Former WBO president Paco Valcárcel said farewell with: "Rest in peace, my eternal champion Wilfredo 'Bazooka' Gómez."