Hall of Fame boxer Wilfredo Gomez, a native of Puerto Rico who won world championships in three different weight classifications, died on Saturday. He was 69.
Gomez, whose nickname was “Bazooka,” had been hospitalized with respiratory complications, ESPN reported, citing the boxer’s son, who gave the news to outlets in Puerto Rico.
Former WBO president and fellow Puerto Rican Paco Valcarcel also confirmed Gomez’s death on social media.
“He passed away a few hours ago, the one to whom I owe having entered the great family of International Boxing,” Valcarcel wrote on X. “Rest in peace, my eternal champion Wilfredo ‘Bazuka’ Gomez.”
Gomez stood 5-foot-5 and had an overall record of 44-3-1 with 42 knockouts, according to his biography on the International Boxing Hall of Fame website.
He overcame a first-round knockdown to defeat South Korea’s Dong-Kyun Yum in a 12-round knockout to win the WBC junior featherweight title in October 1977, when he was 20, ESPN reported.
He made 17 title defenses before relinquishing his crown in 1983.
Gomez later captured world championships at featherweight and junior lightweight. He retired from professional boxing in 1989 and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995.
In 1984, Gomez won the WBC featherweight title, prevailing in a decision against Juan LaPorte. The following year, he took a majority decision against Rocky Lockridge to take the WBA junior lightweight title.
Gomez, who represented Puerto Rico during the 1972 Olympics, was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995.