Wilfredo Gómez
| Wilfredo Gómez | |||||||||||||
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Gómez in 2003
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| Statistics | |||||||||||||
| Real name | Wilfredo Gómez Rivera | ||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Bazooka | ||||||||||||
| Rated at | Super bantamweight | ||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) | ||||||||||||
| Nationality | Puerto Rican | ||||||||||||
| Born |
October 29, 1956 San Juan, Puerto Rico |
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| Stance | Orthodox | ||||||||||||
| Boxing record | |||||||||||||
| Total fights | 48 | ||||||||||||
| Wins | 44 | ||||||||||||
| Wins by KO | 42 | ||||||||||||
| Losses | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Draws | 1 | ||||||||||||
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Medal record
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 You may watch Wilfredo Gomez fight various boxers, among them Lupe Pintor, here
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Wilfredo Gómez Rivera (Spanish pronunciation: [wilˈfɾeðo ˈɣomes]; born October 29, 1956), sometimes referred to as Bazooka Gómez, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer and three-time 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, Wilfred Benítez, Esteban De Jesús, Edwin Rosario, and Carlos Ortíz. His seventeen consecutive knockouts in championship defenses is a record for all boxing divisions.
Gómez was born in a poor area of Las Monjas in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the son of Jacobo Gomez and Julia Rivera. He has admitted to newspapers that, as a little child, he had to fight off bullies on Las Monjas' streets. He constantly fought in school as per his family members remember. He has told some Puerto Rican newspapers that he felt he was born to fight because of that situation. Gómez's father was a taxi driver and his mother was a homemaker. Gómez himself reportedly used a bicycle as means of transportation when he was young, and he sold candy to earn pocket money before becoming an amateur boxer.
Gómez won the gold medal at the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and 1974 World Championships in Havana, Cuba before turning professional. He also competed in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, getting eliminated by an Egyptian 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 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada, opting to begin making money right after the Cuban competition instead. Coming from Puerto Rico, he settled for less money and exposure from the American media, and moved to Costa Rica, where he began to tour all of Central America in hopes of finding matches. His professional debut came in Panama City, Panama, where he fought to a draw with Jacinto Fuentes.
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