While the Puerto Rican claimed WBC honors at featherweight and later the WBA junior lightweight title, his near six-year WBC championship tenure at 130 pounds is what he's best remembered by.

Gomez had been hospitalized for a fortnight with respiratory problems. Notable tributes came from his compatriot, former WBO president Paco Valcarcel and WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman.

"He passed away a few hours ago, the one to whom I owe having entered the great family of International Boxing. Rest in peace, my eternal champion Wilfredo "Bazooka" Gomez," said Valcarcel on Twitter.

"Wilfredo Gomez, one of the greatest fighters of all-time, is now resting in peace. May his memory be eternal," Sulaiman said on social media.

Gomez was born in a poor neighborhood near San Juan on October 29, 1956.

A rough-and-tumble kid who naturally gravitated to boxing, he was a very successful amateur. Gomez represented his island nation at the 1972 Olympic Games before winning the inaugural world championships in Havana, Cuba two years later.

In demolishing his opponents at the latter competition, the heavy-handed teenager even impressed a certain VIP in attendance.

"Fidel Castro made an offer to stay in Cuba as an amateur,” Gomez told The Ring in a Best I Faced story featuring in the August 2018 issue of the Magazine.

"I had created a big impression among the Cubans, but decided to decline because my goal was to become a professional in pursuit of fame, fortune and glory."

"Bazooka" wasn’t short of offers and quickly transitioned to the pro style despite a draw on his debut. In his 17th bout, he met WBC junior featherweight titleholder Dong Kyun Yum in May 1977.

The skilled Korean dropped Gomez in the opening round of a competitive fight but was ultimately stopped in the 12th round. Gomez knocked out several challengers — including Royal Kobayashi and Leonardo Cruz — in the months that followed, setting up a super fight with bantamweight champion Carlos Zarate in October 1978.

In a shootout between unbeaten knockout artists, Gomez (21 KOs in 22 fights) dropped Zarate three times before his Mexican rival's corner threw in the towel during round five.

Zarate entered the bout with an astounding 51 knockouts from 52 bouts, but floated between weight divisions after the defeat while maintaining his fearsome knockout ratio against lesser opposition.

In the midst of Gomez's title reign meanwhile, he elected to face another Mexican legend at featherweight in 1981.

With no obvious junior featherweight challenger, Salvador Sanchez was the adversary across him that August. Gomez endured a tumultuous start, Sanchez flooring him in the first round and breaking his cheekbone in doing so.

The action was back-and-forth, but Sanchez would not be denied and handed the proud Puerto Rican his first defeat, ending matters during the final minute of the eighth.

Afterwards, Gomez returned to 122 pounds and recorded four more title defenses. That included an instant classic against Luke Pintor in December 1982, after which he vacated the belt to fully campaign at featherweight.

There, he scored a pair of early stoppage wins in Puerto Rico before besting compatriot Juan Laporte for the WBC title in March 1984. Gomez considered that to be his proudest moment.

"Having lost to Salvador Sanchez at 126 pounds, I decided to try again. I went well prepared, trained, determined and was very focused on winning."

Gomez's featherweight tenure was cut short when losing via 11th-round stoppage in a competitive clash with burgeoning star Azumah Nelson nine months later.

He again rebounded, this time at 130 pounds, edging a 15-round decision against Rocky Lockridge to claim the WBA crown. Despite controversy over the scorecards, Gomez deemed it a career-best win, all things considered.

"I had to win that fight," he said. "My goal and direct mission was to be a part of a select group of fighters that had won three world championships, becoming part of boxing's creme de la creme."

Gomez considered retiring before returning a year later, where he would lose via ninth-round stoppage against Alfredo Layne in May 1986. Two years later, he resurfaced once more and pitched two knockout wins a year apart before departing the sport for good with a record of 44-3-1 (42 KOs).

In March 2017, his former opponent Juan Laporte said: "You could tell by his record and the guys he fought. When he fought me, he made the fight so easy for himself and played with me that day. Gomez was one of the greatest fighters in the world."

In 1995, Gomez was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He is survived by his wife and four children.