Wilfredo "Bazooka" Gómez, a former world champion and one of the most important figures in Puerto Rican sports history, died Saturday night at age 69. His son, Wilfredo Gómez Jr., confirmed on television (Telemundo) that his father died at 9:00 PM and said he would give more details Sunday. On Wednesday, Gómez Jr. had asked for prayers for the man known as "Niño de las Monjas" in a social media post.
In recent years Gómez faced health problems and suffered brain damage associated with his long career in the ring. Born in San Juan on October 29, 1956, Gómez was a world champion in three divisions (super bantamweight, featherweight and super featherweight). He retired with a record of 44-3-1, with 42 knockouts, and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995.
He won his first title at age 20, knocking out World Boxing Council (WBC) super bantamweight (122 pounds) champion Dong Kyun Yum on May 21, 1977, at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan. He made 17 defenses of that title, winning every one by knockout. He lost his unbeaten record to Salvador Sánchez on September 21, 1981; Sánchez died in a car accident the following year, and Gómez never got a rematch.
As an amateur, Gómez represented Puerto Rico at the 1972 Munich Olympics and won gold at the first World Championship in Havana in 1974. A panel of experts also selected him as Puerto Rico’s best boxer in El Nuevo Día’s special project "Leyendas Boricuas del Ring," which featured the island’s 12 greatest boxers.