Sports - Puerto Rico - page 515

lombian Antonio Cervantes in a World Junior Welterweight championship bout in
San Juan in 1976. Benitez, just 17 at the time, defended his title three times before
losing to Sugar Ray Leonard in 1979. Gómez, known affectionately as Bazooka, was
a punching phenomenon from San Juan who retains one of the highest knockout ra-
tios, with 42 knockouts in 46 fights. Rated number 13 in Ring magazine's list of all-
time best punchers, Gómez was the subject of the 2003 documentary Bazooka: The
Battles of Wilfredo Gómez .
As much a showman as a fighter, Hector 'Macho' Camacho was Puerto Rico's
most flamboyant star. Born in Bayamón but raised in New York, Camacho aped the
style of Muhammad Ali by leaping into the ring dressed as Captain America before a
fight. During a 20-year career he fought everyone from Roberto Duran to Julio César
Chávez and tested loyalties in his homeland in an all-Puerto Rican world-title fight
against Felix Trinidad.
Trinidad, from Cupey Alto, is another modern boxing legend who won world titles
at three different weights, including a 1999 victory over Oscar de la Hoya, after
which he received a hero's welcome at Luís Muñoz Marín International Airport. He
recently passed his mantle over to current superstar Miguel Cotto, part of a famous
boxing family dynasty and a product of the famous Bairoa gym in Caguas. Cotto lost
his welterweight title in 2008 to Antonio Margarito, only to change divisions and win
the light middleweight belt in an exhibition match at Yankee Stadium.
Basketball
Puerto Rico began competing in the Olympic Games in 1948 and has never taken home a
gold medal. But at the 2004 summer games, the island made history when the Puerto Rican
men's basketball team - in its first showing at the Olympics - upset the USA 'Dream Team'
in their opening game, the first defeat of USA men's basketball since the Olympic commit-
tee allowed professional NBA players to participate. Facing off against the biggest names
in the sport, including LeBron James and Allen Iverson, Puerto Rico was led by a pair of
players who sported Utah Jazz jerseys in the regular season, Carlos Arroyo and José Ortiz.
The team did not win a medal in the games, but became instant national heroes. Visitors can
catch basketball almost year-round, watching teams participating in Puerto Rico's own pro
league, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional ( www.bsnpr.com ) or the international Premiere
Basketball League ( www.thepbl.com ) , which has teams from the US and Canada.