PUERTO RICO BOXING LEGEND GOMEZ DIES AT 69

 

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Three-weight world champion Wilfredo 'Bazooka' Gomez has died aged 69.

The Puerto Rican won the WBC super-bantamweight title, WBC featherweight belt and WBA super-featherweight crown during a career in which he was renowned as a heavy puncher.

Gomez fought in 48 fights and won 44, with 42 by virtue of knockout, and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, external in 1995.

Former president of the sanctioning body the WBO Paco Valcarcel confirmed the passing of his compatriot.

"He passed away a few hours ago, the one to whom I owe having entered the great family of international boxing," wrote Valcacel on social media on Saturday.

"Rest in peace, my eternal champion Wilfredo 'Bazooka' Gomez."

Gomez's best wins came against fellow greats Mexico's Carlos Zarate, two-weight champion Lupe Pintor, domestic rival Juan Laporte and American Rocky Lockridge.

Zarate was his finest win, stopping the then 52-0 knockout specialist in five rounds in front of his home fans in San Juan to retain his WBC super-bantamweight title.

Competing during a stacked era of talent at his weights, Gomez suffered heartbreak in two of his biggest fights when he was knocked out by Salvador Sanchez in 1981 and Azumah Nelson in 1984 - both at featherweight for the WBC world title.

The WBC and its president Mauricio Sulaiman called Gomez "one of the greatest icons in the history of the sport" and that he had passed away "after being hospitalised for the past two weeks due to respiratory complications".

"Universally recognized as one of the greatest ring legends of all time and a ruthless brawler who holds the historic record of 17 consecutive super bantamweight title defenses - all won by knockout - Wilfredo Gomez leaves behind an indelible legacy both inside and outside the ring," a statement said., external

As an amateur, Gomez competed at the 1972 Olympics aged just 15 and at 17 would win gold at the inaugural World Amateur Championships in Cuba.

- BBC Sport 

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PRINCE NASEEM'S BROTHER EXPLAINS REASON BEHIND BOXING LEGEND'S HUGE WEIGHT GAIN

The Sun

The former featherweight world champion used to tip the scales at just nine-stone, but now cuts a very different figure when he is seen out and about near his Windsor home.

Prince Naseem Hamed's brother Ali believes his considerable weight gain is due to stress over a £12million family feud.

The former featherweight champion would have to tip the scales at just nine stone during his fighting heyday, but after retiring at the age of just 28 he has cut a very different figure. He has stayed out of the public eye in recent years, but when he was spotted out and about near his new Windsor home he was much heavier than past sightings.

And his brother Ali, a 44-year-old personal trainer in Sheffield, believes that the boxer has been "eating and eating" due to guilt over a bitter legal battle with his family. "His weight is a result of the trauma and stress," Ali told The Sun. "He’s turned in on himself and has just eaten and eaten.

During his boxing prime, Hamed is believed to have given his parents an unknown sum to invest in property, which has appreciated to being worth around £12million. He believes that it was an investment, and as such he is entitled to the money after his mum's passing two years ago.

But his eight siblings argue that it was a gift, and as such it should be split. The family haven't spoken outside of communication since lawyers after a brutal falling out, with his Dubai-based brother Riath leading the charge against him.

Their battle over the nine-figure fortune is expected to play out in a Dubai courtroom, with Ali declaring that his brother has become "greedy" in recent years. “He’s just being greedy," Ali added. "The more you eat in life, the more hungry you are.

The Sheffield-based personal trainer believes that his brother also spent his money too frivolously, adding: “So much of his wealth was p***ed up a wall, including on buying the biggest mango farm in Yemen that is now all dead and dishevelled."

Hamed has remained quiet publicly on the feud, but disputes that he has become some sort of recluse, insisting that he has never been happier and that he is often recognised in public. "I’m the happiest I’ve ever been," he told the Daily Mail last month. "I’ve never been in a better place."

His son Aadam has been working towards a boxing career of his own, aiming to replicate the successes of famous fighting sons such as Chris Eubank Jr, Campbell Hatton and Conor Benn in recent years. The pair were spotted training together back in February, with the 22-year-old often sharing clips on social media.

With the likes of Floyd Mayweather and Ricky Hatton making ring returns for lucrative exhibition bouts, Hamed even floated the idea of a boxing comeback when meeting with YouTube star Slim Albaher in Dubai last year. The social media star, who has gone 3-0 as a boxer, claimed that he was told by the boxing legend that he wanted to come out of retirement after watching him fight.

- Donagh 

 

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