Three-weight world champion Wilfredo ‘Bazooka’ Gomez has died aged 69.

The Puerto Rican won the WBC super-bantamweight title, WBC featherweight belt and WBA super-featherweight crown during a career in which he was renowned as a heavy puncher.

Gomez fought in 48 fights and won 44, with 42 by virtue of knockout, and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, external in 1995.

Former president of the sanctioning body the WBO Paco Valcarcel confirmed the passing of his compatriot.

“He passed away a few hours ago, the one to whom I owe having entered the great family of international boxing,” wrote Valcacel on social media on Saturday.

“Rest in peace, my eternal champion Wilfredo ‘Bazooka’ Gomez.”

Gomez’s best wins came against fellow greats Mexico’s Carlos Zarate, two-weight champion Lupe Pintor, domestic rival Juan Laporte and American Rocky Lockridge.

Zarate was his finest win, stopping the then 52-0 knockout specialist in five rounds in front of his home fans in San Juan to retain his WBC super-bantamweight title.

Spanish Open

-14 G Forrest (Sco); -13 E Chacarra (Spa), V Perez (Fra); -12 J Skov Olesen (Den); D Brown (Eng), J Dean (Eng)

Selected others: -10 L Aberg (Swe); -8 S Lowry (Ire); -7 M Penge (Eng), F Molinari (Ita)

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Scotland’s Grant Forrest held off a charge from home favourite Eugenio Chacarra to win the Spanish Open and book a spot at The Open and the Masters next year.

With Chacarra in the clubhouse at 13 under, Forrest and playing partner Victor Perez needed to make birdies at the 18th to go above the Spaniard.

Both players’ drives nestled down in the greenside rough on the 322-yard par four, and after Perez’s birdie putt drifted past the hole, Forrest sunk his to seal his third DP World Tour title and a first professional win outside Scotland.

“I’m in pure shock just now,” Forrest said. “It’s been such a tough year. I’ve got good memories of this course and this tournament. To do it is unbelievable.

“It was tough. I wasn’t too sure what other groups were doing. It was a matter of staying in it. I dug in so well.

“That’s fairytale stuff, I’ve played two Opens and to be going to Augusta, I just can’t get my head round it. You can have a great career in this game and never get to go to Augusta, so I cannot believe it.”

Going into the final round in a share of the lead with England’s Joe Dean on 13 under, Forrest birdied the fourth, but made bogeys at three, six and eight as he dropped two shots off the top.

However, Forrest showed excellent resilience and moved back into a share of the lead as he started his back nine with three birdies and a bogey in five holes.

And he got the job done with a tidy up-and-down at the last to card a closing one-under 70 and take home the £480,000 first prize.

A sparse crowd of 7,071 – which led to the closure of 15,600-capacity Sandy Park’s North Terrace for the first time for a Prem game – watched Exeter make a superb start as Vintcent charged down Zack Henry’s kick to go in under the posts.

Those who did attend saw the try-scoring start continue as Wade levelled the score three minutes later – the Red Bulls’ winger went in for his 98th Prem try after some excellent Newcastle passing.

Slade was at the centre of Exeter’s next two tries, setting up Vintcent for the Italy forward’s second in the 11th minute before selling a superb dummy to coast in from 40 metres nine minutes later – but only after Wade had put in Max Hicks to briefly give Newcastle the lead.

Exeter had Ethan Roots sin-binned for a no-arms tackle on Red Bulls full-back Harrison Obatoyinbo 14 minutes from the break and, moments before his return, Wade went in for his second after Sammy Arnold had broken through the Exeter line.

Summer-signing Sam Harris – making his Exeter league debut at full-back – dived in four minutes after the restart to restore Exeter’s lead but it lasted just four minutes before Wade raced over from 40 metres for his third score after Slade’s wayward pass, reaching his century of league tries.

The hosts thought they had scored a fifth try soon after when Stephen Varney dotted down from close range but replays showed a forward pass from Slade to Harris in the build-up.

Exeter took the lead with 16 minutes left when Slade kicked a 40-metre penalty and the result was secured in the dying moments when Georgian forward Tchumbadze got on the end of a maul from a close-range line-out.

Newcastle head coach Dan McFarland told BBC Sport:

“Every time you lose, you’re disappointed.

“Both weeks I’ve been proud of a lot of what we’ve done, very proud of the effort that we put in there, very proud that we went out and played the brand of rugby that we want to play going forward.

“The fact that we’ve come to last season’s finalists and lost narrowly at this stage is at the same time disappointing and positive in knowing that what we’re trying to do we’re, putting in place.”

Exeter: Harris; Feyi-Waboso, Slade, Butt, Wyatt; Skinner, Varney; Burger, Yeandle, Iosefa-Scott, Wilson, Jenkins (capt), Roots, Vintcent, Fisilau

Replacements: Gulley, Goodrick-Clarke, Tchumbadze, Hooper, James, Wolstenholme, Haydon-Wood, Wimbush

Yellow card: Ethan Roots (26)

Newcastle: Obatoyinbo; Wade, Hearle, Arnold, Kok; Henry, Benitez Cruz; Rakete-Stones, Togiatama, Millar Mills, Usher, Jordan, Hicks, Christie (capt), Sotutu

Replacements: Adejimi, Brocklebank, Harper, Molina, Leatherbarrow, Graham, Elliott, Connon

Yellow card: Adam Brocklebank (76)

Referee: George Selwood