Wilfredo Gomez Rivera (born October 29, 1956), sometimes referred to as Bazooka Gomez, 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 journalist and analyst, along with Felix Trinidad, Miguel Cotto, Wilfred Benitez, Hector Camacho, Edwin Rosario, and Carlos Ortiz. His seventeen consecutive knockouts in championship defenses is a record for all boxing divisions.

Biography

Gomez was born in a poor area of Las Monjas in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 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. Gomez's father was a taxi driver and his mother was a homemaker. Gomez 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.

Amateur career and professional debut

Gomez 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 economical 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.

Professional career

After this inauspicious debut, he reeled off a streak of 32 knockout wins in a row. Including wins over Fuentes, who was dispatched in 2 rounds in a rematch, and future world champion Alberto Davila, who lasted 9 rounds before being defeated. His 32 knockout wins in a row make him one of two world champions with the longest knockout streak in history, placing him in a third place tie behind Lamar Clark (44) and Billy Fox (43) for the all time knockout streak, and tied with Dontay Wilder. Among world champions, Gomez had the longest knockout winning streak; neither Clark nor Fox won world titles. After Deontay Wilder defeated Bermane Stiverne for the WBC world Heavyweight title by unanimous 12 round decision on January 17, 2015, Wilder, who had won his first 32 fights by knockout, tied Gomez for the longest knockout streak by a world champion in boxing history, but at the same time had his own knockout streak snapped, ending his hopes to break Gomez's record and become the world champion with the longest streak.

Gomez's knockout streak caught the eye of the WBC Super Bantamweight champion Dong Kyun Yum of South Korea, who travelled to San Juan, Puerto Rico to defend his crown against Gomez, Yum had a promising start, dropping Gomez 30 seconds into the bout, but Gomez picked himself up and eventually won the crown, his first world title, with a 12th round knockout. His first defense took him to the Far East, where he beat former world champion Royal Kobayashi in 3 rounds in Tokyo. Kobayashi had lasted 5 rounds vs Alexis Arguello. Next was Ryu Tomonari in a small city of Thailand. He lasted 2 rounds.

Gomez's streak reached 32 knockouts in a row. Those 32 knockouts in a row included what is generally considered to be his biggest victory ever, a five round defeat of world Bantamweight champion Carlos Zarate, who was 55-0 with 54 knockout wins coming into their San Juan bout. also included in that streak was future world champion Leo Cruz, beaten in 13 rounds at San Juan and Derrick Holmes, knocked out in five rounds in a fight attended, among others, by Sylvester Stallone, Carl weathers and Alexis Arguello. After recording his 32nd knockout win in a row, he moved up in weight to face the world featherweight champion Salvador Sanchez of Mexico. He lost to Salvador Sanchez by 8th round TKO.