Wilfredo Gómez Rivera, sometimes referred to as Bazooka Gómez, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer and three weight world champion. He is frequently mentioned among the best Puerto Rican boxers of all time by sports journalists and analysts, along with Félix Trinidad, Miguel Cotto, Wilfred Benítez, Esteban De Jesús, Edwin Rosario, and Carlos Ortíz.
Santos Benigno Laciar, known familiarly as Santos Laciar and nicknamed Falucho, is an Argentine who was boxing's world flyweight and super flyweight champion.
Jesús Carlos Zárate Serna is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1970 to 1988, and held the WBC bantamweight title from 1976 to 1979.
José Guadalupe Pintor Guzmán, better known as Lupe Pintor, is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1974 to 1995. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC bantamweight title from 1979 to 1983 and the WBC super bantamweight title from 1985 to 1986.
Juan Molina, better known as John John Molina in the world of boxing, is a former boxer whose career transcended boxing in Puerto Rico. A multiple time world champion, this boxer was also known as quite a socialite. Molina is a native of Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
Victor Callejas is a Puerto Rican former boxer who was world Junior Featherweight champion.
Wilfredo Vázquez Olivera is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 2002. He held world championships in three weight classes, including the WBA bantamweight title from 1987 to 1988, the WBA super bantamweight title from 1992 to 1995, and the WBA and lineal featherweight titles from 1996 to 1998. His son, Wilfredo Vázquez Jr., is also a former boxer and world champion.
Julian Solís is a former boxer from Puerto Rico. He was born in the San Juan area of Río Piedras, but because of the closeness of his birthplace to Caguas, he often trained at the Bairoa Gym in Caguas. His training base, however, was the Caimito Gym.
José Miguel Cotto Vázquez is a Puerto Rican professional boxer and a four-time regional level champion. He is the brother of six-time world boxing champion Miguel Cotto and the cousin of lightweight contender Abner Cotto.
Boxing in the 1980s was filled with important fights, events and personalities that shaped the sport. Boxing in the 1980s was shaped by many different situations, such as the continuous corporate battles between the different world sanctioning organizations, the void left by Muhammad Ali as the sport's ambassador and consequent search for a new boxing hero, the continuous presence of Don King as the sport's most famous promoter, the surge of rival promoters as Bob Arum, Butch Lewis and Murad Muhammad, and major rule changes. In 1986, Mike Tyson emerged as a fresh new face in the heavyweight division, which had seen a decline in champion quality level after Ali's retirement and, later on, after longtime WBC ruler Larry Holmes' prime. In addition, the IBF and WBO began operating.
Julio Antonio Gervacio is a former boxer and world Super Bantamweight champion from the Dominican Republic.
José "Cheíto" Ruíz Matos was a Puerto Rican boxer. Born and raised in the municipality of Trujillo Alto, he was signed as a professional when he was 17 years old. Ruíz made his debut July 13, 1984, competing in the super flyweight division. He gathered a record of 9-2 during the first three years of his career, which featured a trilogy against eventual contender, Pedro Jose Feliciano. Seeking to improve his standing in the world rankings, Ruíz challenged and defeated former World Boxing Council and Colombian champion, Prudencio Cardona and Chilean titlist Bernardo Manuel Mendoza. On April 29, 1989, he received his first opportunity for a world championship, defeating Sugar "Baby" Rojas for the title of the newly created World Boxing Organization. Ruíz had four successful defenses, defeating Juan Carazo, Ángel Rosario, Wilfredo Vargas and Armando Velasco. On February 22, 1992, Ruíz lost the title to José Quirino by unanimous decision. Five months later, he participated in the last fight of his career, losing a close majority decision to the International Boxing Federation's champion, Robert Quiroga. On February 28, 1992, Ruíz was ambushed and shot while traveling through one of San Juan's barrios, receiving six bullet wounds that fatally injured him.
Wilfredo Vázquez Jr. is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2006 to 2016, and held the WBO junior featherweight title from 2010 to 2011. He is the son of former world champion Wilfredo Vázquez.
Geronimo "Gerry" J. Peñalosa is a Filipino former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2010. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC super-flyweight title from 1997 to 1998, and the WBO bantamweight title from 2007 to 2009. Originally from the city of San Carlos, Negros Occidental, Peñalosa currently resides in Manila. He was trained mainly by Freddie Roach, and went on to become a boxing trainer himself after retirement. Peñalosa's older brother, Dodie Boy Peñalosa, is also a former boxer and world champion.
Andres "Puppy" Hernandez is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who once fought Carlos Zarate for the World Boxing Council's world bantamweight title. Earlier in his career, he was known for being able to take many punches. His boxing nickname is "Puppy".
Jorge Luján is a Panamanian who was a professional boxer and fought many top-flight boxers and several champions during the 1970s and 1980s. Luján is the former Lineal and WBA Bantamweight world champion. He was managed by Aurelio Cortez.
Rafael del Valle is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who reigned, from May 13, 1992, to July 30, 1994, as the WBO's World Bantamweight champion. A puncher with a sturdy chin, del Valle was born and resides at Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Wilfredo Gómez vs. Carlos Zárate was a professional boxing match contested between WBC super bantamweight champion Wilfredo Gómez and WBC bantamweight champion Carlos Zárate, with Gómez' super bantamweight title on the line. The bout took place on October 28, 1978, at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Gómez retained his title via fifth-round technical knockout (TKO). Many experts credit this fight as the beginning of the Mexico–Puerto Rico boxing rivalry.
Roberto Elizondo is an American former professional boxer of Mexican descent. Elizondo competed in the sport of professional boxing from 1977 to 1987, and he fought for the World Boxing Council's world Lightweight title twice, both times challenging unsuccessfully. Elizondo, from Corpus Christi, Texas, is a member of the Corpus Christi Boxing Hall of Fame.
The history of the sport of boxing in Puerto Rico is a varied and extensive one. Boxing is a major sport in the Caribbean country, and the sport has produced many champions for the island, both in the amateur and professional ranks, and among men and women fighters.
