Little Men, Big Power, Vol. 1: Wilfredo “Bazooka” Gomez

By Ian Murphy

In the lighter divisions (under 135lbs) of combat sports, a true knockout artist is a rare and special commodity. Very few had the relative (to bodyweight) punching power of the great Puerto Rican Super Bantamweight Champion Wilfredo “Bazooka” Gomez. Despite tipping the scales at 122lbs, Gomez had the power of a much bigger man. When he landed on his opponents, the sound had a signature “thud” as opposed to a pop or slapping noise that is more common amongst men his size. Make no mistake, Bazooka was a true killer with brutal power. Out of his 44 career victories, he scored 42 knockouts, for an incredible 95% KO percentage. Gomez began his professional career with a draw, but rattled off an unbelievable streak of thirty-two consecutive knockouts. This feat was only bested by Billy Fox (42 consecutive KO’s) and Lamar Clark (44). Perhaps his most dramatic and emphatic finish was against fellow KO artist, the Mexican Mauler, Carlos Zarate.

World Super Bantam Weight Championship Bout- Wilfredo “Bazooka” Gomez vs Carlos “Canas” Zarate, October 1978

Bantamweight champion Zarate was moving up in weight to challenge Super Bantamweight Champion Gomez in a highly anticipated match between two legit hitters in their primes. Each was known for massive power and both were undefeated at the time. The combined knockout percentage of these two warriors was an astounding 99%. At the time of their match up, Bazooka was 21-0 with 21 KO’s and challenger Zarate had an incredible 54 finishes in his 55 victories. The fight did not disappoint, and lived up to the lofty expectations.

Wary of their adversary’s power, and feeling each other out during the first three rounds, Gomez went to work in the fourth. An underrated technical boxer, Gomez was picking up that Zarate was loading up his right hand and telegraphing it before throwing. Early in the 4th, Gomez just missed with the left hook counter. Later, as Gomez was circling away he scored a knockdown via huge left hook after Zarate tried to land that right. The pro-Gomez crowd at Roberto Clemente Coliseum erupted and cheered so loud that the audio in the film was completely distorted. For the remainder of that round Bazooka relentlessly pursued Zarate, flooring him twice more and probably would have had the finish if the bell hadn’t saved Carlos from the vicious assault. The fight ended in the next round with Zarate staggering across the ring and his corner throwing in the towel, saving him from further punishment.

Wilfredo Gomez will go down in history as one of the heaviest hitters irrespective of weight division. Seemingly in defiance of physics, this diminutive man of less than 125lbs was a pint-sized wrecking machine who, in 2003, was listed at #13 in Ring Magazine’s 100 Greatest Punchers. His rival Carlos Zarate was rated at #21, and this places these ring warriors in pretty select company for two men who weighed less combined than former Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis.