Q&A: Wilfredo Gomez! February 21, 2006 By Jason "J-Gon" Gonzalez

The tiny island in the Caribbean known as Puerto Rico has produced its fair share of champions and men such as Sixto Escobar, Carlos Ortiz, Jose Torres, and Wilfredo Benitez have made enormous contributions to the "Sweet Science" in the form of thrills and excitement. But as we scroll up and down the long list of former champions that hail from 'La Isla del Encanto' there is one man that stands out above the rest. I'll give you a hint it's not Felix Trinidad. Give up? Before there was "Tito" Trinidad there was Wilfredo Gomez. Not only did this man provide thrills and excitement, he set records. He set records that still to this day remain intact.

"Bazooka" had thirty-two consecutive knockouts. Seventeen of those thirty-two knockouts were title defenses. He finished his career with an outstanding record of 44-3-1 with 42 KO's. Nope that is not a typo, you read correctly, 42 knockouts. And as great as his in ring achievements were, his victories outside of it were even greater.

So as we pay homage to the 'Old School' let's join the greatest Puerto Rican champion of all time on a trip down memory lane. As we get a feel for the plight of the 49-year-old former two-time world champion, you will realize that anything is possible if you just believe in yourself and the 'Man' upstairs. Tune in for this one-on-one candid interview as we go toe to toe with the Hall of Famer hailing from Las Monjas. Here is what he had to say…

Hello Wilfredo! Before we start, I would like to personally thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to conduct the interview. First and foremost, how are you doing? Also, please inform all of the readers of Fightnews.com what has been going on in your life?

It is my pleasure, and thank you for having me. As of right now, I am just relaxing and enjoying life with the Mrs. We are enjoying the fruits of our labor. We currently live in Trujillo Alto Puerto Rico, a town that is approximately an hour away from the gymnasium I work out of. I am teaching young kids to box at the Wilfredo Gomez arena located in Guaynabo.

Do you and your wife have any children of your own?

Sure, I have four kids. I have three girls and a boy. My three daughters are ages 27, 24 and 14, and my son is 15.

Now that you are training kids to box, is your involvement in the game limited to just children or are you also training professionals as well?

As of right now, I am training amateurs for the Pro-Olympic Junior State tournament. However, I am not limiting myself to just amateurs. There is a professional I am working with by the name of Omar Soto (8-0, 5 KO's). Soto is currently the WBO Latino Minimumweight Champion. He is 23 years old and has tremendous potential. I will be working with him as he prepares for his next fight in Kissimmee, Florida, when he challenges a very tough Mexican fighter by the name of Francisco Rosas.

Since we are on the subject of Kissimmee, Florida, I would like to announce that I just finished purchasing a new home in Kissimmee. By the grace of God, my wife and I plan on moving to Florida in May. God willing all will goes according to plan I will be training fighters at the Kissimmee Boxing Academy. But as I was saying before, look out for Omar Soto, as I plan on bringing him to New York this September.

Wilfredo what are thoughts about the current state of boxing in Puerto Rico?

As of right now the face of boxing in Puerto Rico is fantastic. We have several great prospects and champions. Juan Manuel Lopez and Alex "El Pollo" DeJesus are currently two of the hottest prospects to come out of the Island. As for our champions, we have two that stick out in my mind, and ironically, they both represent the WBO. I am talking about Ivan "Iron-Boy" Calderon and Miguel Cotto. Calderon is simply amazing. He is a boxing technician. And Miguel, what can you say? The guts that that kid has is just remarkable. In my opinion Puerto Rico is the 'Mecca of Boxing.' Here is a little piece of information that you won't hear anywhere else: Miguel and I share the same birthday. Yup, the grand feast of October 29th, as I like to put it (laughing).

Wilfredo, you are regarded by the experts as the greatest Puerto Rican champion of all time. Considering your ring experience and vast knowledge of the game, do you agree with that assessment?

I really don't know. Some people say that I was the greatest, and others say its Felix "Tito" Trinidad. But if you know your history you will see I had thirty-two consecutive knockouts. And seventeen out of those thirty-two consecutive knockouts were title defenses. A record that has yet to be broken. I don't want people to think that I am full of myself, but I feel I earned the right to be called the greatest Puerto Rican champion of all time. There was nothing that I could not do. I could box, I could punch, I had defense, and most importantly I had guts.

The World Boxing Council just finished having their annual dinner and award ceremony in Cancun, Mexico. Did you attend? If so tell us about the ceremony.

As a former champion of the WBC, I did attend the award ceremony, and if I had to use only one word to describe the affair, it would be 'beautiful.' Cancun is a lovely place. All of the current and former champions are invited to attend this ceremony, which acknowledges outstanding achievements amongst WBC champions. It was great seeing President Jose Sulaiman and the rest of the old bunch.

What do you feel was your best weight-class?

No question it was 122 pounds. Junior Featherweight or Super Bantamweight or whatever the hell you guys call it today (laughing).

I remember watching the film of the Rocky Lockridge fight and seeing you threaten your corner man by saying you were going to kill him if he stopped the fight.

Laughing…Laughing… That's right. If I was going to die, I was going to make sure that I died fighting. I always said that if I die, it will be in the ring. But I would be damned if I let anyone from my team stop my fight. But going back to what I was saying, I was a well rounded fighter. And speaking of Rocky Lockridge, that's the fight in which I damaged my vocal cords. That was an extremely brutal fight. From the first round to the fifteenth it was back and forth non-stop action. During the course of the fight I was punched in my neck and throat. He actually poked me in my throat with the thumb of the glove. It was rough but thank God I prevailed.

No question the Rocky Lockridge fight was brutal, but it seemed every fight you were in was brutal. Who do you feel was the toughest opponent you have ever fought?

Laughing… You got that right. But no question the toughest guy I ever fought was Lupe Pintor of Mexico. My God, I remember that day as if it was yesterday. December 3rd, 1982 at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. From the first to the fourteenth round, it was just back and forth with no end in sight. I hit this guy with some devastating shots but they weren't affecting him. I hit this man with everything but the kitchen sink. In fact I was looking to hit him with that, too. But fortunately I was able to stop him in the 14th and by the grace of God we were both okay.

So is Lupe Pintor the biggest puncher you ever faced?

Although he punched hard, he wasn't the hardest puncher I had ever faced. The hardest puncher I faced goes by the name of Carlos Zarate, who by no coincidence, hails from Mexico (laughing). When I fought Zarate, he was 52-0 with 51 knockouts. Every time this man laid a glove on me I would literally see stars (laughing). But be it as it may I stopped him in five. Go figure…

Is there anyone in the fight game that you are a fan of? Who would Wilfredo Gomez pay to go see?

Without a shadow of a doubt, Manny Pacquiao. That kid is something else. I wish he would have been around when I was fighting. I would have loved to have fought him, and I believe I could have beaten him, too.

How much did the sudden death of Salvador Sanchez (Mexican featherweight champion) affect you?

It affected me a great deal, both emotionally and psychologically. Salvador was only 23 years old when he passed away. My God that's young, he was just starting to live his life. I felt really bad for his family. Although we were ring rivals we had a lot of respect for each other. The other thing that bothered me was that I would never be able to avenge my loss. I really blew it the first time around. I did not have the preparation nor the conditioning for that fight. I was doing everything that you are not supposed do a few weeks before the fight, to no one's fault but my own.

Just Last year there was a documentary about your life on HBO Latino. The documentary mentioned that there were several friends you had a falling out with, particularly with Don King. What's your relationship with King, Jose Torres and everyone else featured in the documentary?

Great! I am great friends with Jose Torres and Don King. I am on good terms with everybody, or I try to be at least. I take full responsibility for anything negative that happened in the past between my friends and I.

Wilfredo you are a very religious man. Tell me a little bit about the church you belong to.

I go to an evangelical church. I have been going there for eight years now. The most beautiful thing in life is being next to God. There is nothing that can even come remotely close to that revelation.

Wilfredo it is no secret that you struggled with a few personal demons in life. You battled substance abuse as well as a life of reckless fornication. How long have you been in recovery now?

I have been in recovery for eight years. The same amount of time that I have been in church. It has been eight years of monogamy and eight years free of alcohol and cocaine. This is a time period that I like to call the 'Rebirth'. I stand before you a new man.

With knowing what you know now, if you had an opportunity to do it all over again, what would you change about your life/career?

I would have lived a disciplined life. I was living real wild. I was using drugs, sleeping with a variety of women and just living real wild. I had a lot of bad influences in life. I never had the proper guidance, but I was a grown man. I knew the difference between right and wrong. I chose to go down the path. So ultimately it's my fault and no one else's. If I was focused and disciplined I would have been undefeated. Believe me when I tell you. At the beginning of my career I was fine. Everything started to go in down hill towards the end of it.

How are you doing healthwise?

I am healthy thank God. I am doing okay mentally, physically and emotionally.

How are you doing financially?

Well I am not a millionaire, but I am able to live well and comfortably. I invested in real estate and purchased a couple of properties. I have a home in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Florida. So I am doing okay.

Granted you are a hall of famer. But now that the smoke has cleared and the dust has settled, how would you want your legacy to be remembered?

I'll tell ya, there are a lot of great fighters. But I don't want to say that I was the best. I will let the people make that decision. Humility is the best characteristic a human being can have. Whatever the people decide is fine with me.

Your nickname is "Bazooka." Ike Quartey dons the same moniker. Does it bother you that someone else is sporting the same nickname you earned?

Nah, not at all. It makes me feel proud. I am happy that someone else took the name. Quite frankly it's an honor. By using the same nickname you are paying homage to the past.

Who was your ring idol growing up Wilfredo?

None other than the former WBC/WBA lightweight champion Carlos Ortiz. Carlos was my idol. He was great. I make sure to tell him that every time I see him. I was just with him in Cancun for the convention. If you see Carlos please tell him that I admire him immensely.

If there is any piece of advice that you can give an up and coming fighter now, what would it be?

I would tell them to learn from the mistakes I made in life. I would advise them to maintain a clean and healthy lifestyle. Please for the sake of your well-being and future, live a healthy and disciplined life.

Wilfredo we have reached that point in time of the interview. As the old saying goes 'all good things must come to an end'. But before we go, I want to thank you for the history lesson as well as helping me get in touch with my Boricua roots and heritage. Is there anything that you would like to say in closing?

I am happy with life. I am with God, I am very happy with the state of boxing in Puerto Rico. To all of those that have criticized me in the past, I love you all. A very big and warm thank you to my wife. My wife has helped me overcome the heartaches and pains life tends to bring from time to time. If it wasn't for her, I would be buried six feet beneath the ground. And thanks to you my friend, your respect and adulation means the world to me. It's very flattering.

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On behalf of Fightnews.com we would like to thank Wilfredo "Bazooka" Gomez for hanging out and taking all of us on that special trip down memory lane. We wish him the best of luck as well as continued success in life and in his future endeavors.

At this juncture Fightnews.com would also like to thank Peter Cruz for making this interview possible.