BoxRec

What ever happened to one of my all time favorite fighters .
Carbajal, he was a great fighter hands down.
I miss the little guy in the division . It looks like him & ChiQuita Gonzalez, Came a little early. If they were around now we would have alot of great fights in jr. fly division.
Carbajal compiled a record of 49 wins 4 losses & 33 ko's.
great record I considered him really losing only two fights, to Pastrana &
Matlala & thats when he was showing signs of wear & tear.
I think he won all 3 fights with Gonzalez but they were close.
He has at one point or another fought 8 champions & several top notch fighters in his career.
His last fight was a war over future & now reigning champion Jorge Arce, tko11. this is one huge comeback win & it proved that Carbajal was heading to the end of his remarkable career.But still had enough left in tank for one great fight .

Its kinda ironic because he began his career winning his first fight over a future champion in Will Grigsby.W4
He is a 88 silver medalist olympian. He won his first title over M. Kittikasem in his 15 fight ko8, & his legend began.
He has fought big names in his era like Humberto Gonzalez 3 times winning offically the first fight but to most was robbed in the next 2.split decisions.(this triliogy is up there with the best)
He fought Jesus Chong w10, Dom. Sosa tko5, Cob Castro w12, Pastrana Lsd12, Jacob Matlala Ltko9 (cuts), Kwang-sum Kim tko7, Rob Cuestako8, & finally tko10 olympic rival Scotty Olson.
He has won a portion of the title 5 times & won a unification over rival Gonzalez in one of the biggest fights at weight & won in spectacular fashion ko7 great stuff.

Carbajal was the first & only fighter thus far to command million dollar purses at weight, I consider him one of the best in division ever if not the best.
The only set back i see in his career is he didnt get the superfight with finito Lopez & this fight would have been unforgettable . its a shame it didnt come off.
Don King had both fighters but didnt want to risk either cash cow.
Most of his fights were on tv which help him become mainstream , a superstar.
Others like Morel try to follow outline but so far failed.
He made 11 defenses over the 5 reigns . I think he is a shoe in to the hall of fame.
Carbajal had great power but was a fluid boxer as well. he can think in battle, & took a great punch never being stopped & he fought some great punchers of his day.
He had patience in the ring which led him to victory in the times he fell behind in a fight.
If he fought today we would have huge superfights at jr. flyweight.
he never moved up in weight he was the kingpin of the division.
Carbajal could fight in any era & dominate to date all the fighters in history
.

Yeah Micheal was a great little fighter, in a lot of great fights and he fought all the top little men. I always liked the way his corner with his brother in worked... Micheal went out the best way possible after his great come from behind Rocky-like win over Arce.... the fact that Arce is world champ again now shows what a good win it was. But Micheal was taking quite a beating till he found that right-hand and the old speed and reactions were nolonger there.... all in all it was the best way to bow out.... fighters seldom do quit after their 'last great win' (if only Holifield had quit after Tyson 1!)..... I'll always remember how Micheal shouted after beating Arce 'I'm an Aztec warrior!!!' ....and he was.

Most defenetely, Danny took good care of his little brother!
Carbajal did fight anyone willing the ones that didnt come wasnt because of Michael.
Its to bad all these new fighters in the division dont have a accomplished champion like Carbajal.
He really set the stage for the little guys to follow.
Believe or not but I think he could have beaten ricardo Lopez.
Carbajal fought way better opp. No offense to Finito but his opponents were a little picked over.
He should have fought Alveraez a 3rd time or Romero, or Tapias , Or too sharp there were many big names he could have fought & had he did he might not have been undefeated , we will never know now.

Yes, Manitos was a real crowd pleaser with skill and heart to boot. Traded a little too much and neglected defense but overall he's Hall of Fame material. I really enjoy the lighter classes. I think they get terribly short-changed in both coverage and purses. Hell, every fighter is just a foot tall on your TV screen. I always thought there was a lot more skill displayed by th smaller guys. I hate those heavyweight mating hippo contests.

I think Carbajal has the besr chin in the division 's history .
Even when he went down the few times he did he wasnt hurt & wobbly.
He always got right back up & got back in the game.
His war in the first fight with Humberto , is my favorite fight of Carbajal.
He had been down twice & trailing on the cards, but he caught up to Chiquita, & nailed him with the left hook, & Ginzalez never even attempt to get up.It was a huge showdown of little guys & it belongs as one of the best fights ever.
Humberto , was never the same after that lost, & ran the next 2 fights with Carbajal. Stealing the decisions on splits.
Humberto is another great fighter at this weight & could beat anyone else including Lopez had they fought.
These two were the platoue for the rest to follow.
They became bigger stars than Lopez who retired undefeated.
Because they fought each other & the rest too.

crooked nose wrote:Yes, Manitos was a real crowd pleaser with skill and heart to boot. Traded a little too much and neglected defense but overall he's Hall of Fame material. I really enjoy the lighter classes. I think they get terribly short-changed in both coverage and purses. Hell, every fighter is just a foot tall on your TV screen. I always thought there was a lot more skill displayed by th smaller guys. I hate those heavyweight mating hippo contests.

I agree, outside of the outstanding heavies of the 70s and early 80s many heavyweights are lumbering and slow compared to the lighter guys who often throw far more leather for far longer than their bigger counterparts. Pound for pound the little guys are usually far more skilled and better balanced...... it's hard for me to think of many boring lighter weight title fights.......

These guys put on great fights.
They have better match-ups, fight harder, & are buisier fighters throwing triple more punches.
They make little money with the exception of Carbajal, so to make anything they often fight top notch fighters, & challengers,
More unifications come at lighter weights do to this problem. Its a blessing in desgiuse for us the fan.

For those who may not have caught them I recommend any fights with the following in....
Ruben Olivares (Bantam and Featherweight champ)
Bobby CHACON (Feather and Junior lightweight)
Carlos Zarate (Bantam)
Lupe Pinto (Bantam)
Danny Lopez (Feather)
Fighting Harada (Flyweight, Bantam and Feather)
Pone Kingpetch (Flyweight)
Chartai Chinoi (Flyweight)
Wilfredo Gomez (Light feather to Junior Lightweight)
Salvadore Sanchez (Feather)
Azumha Nelson (Feather to Junior -lightweight)
Jeff Fenech (Bantam to Junior Lightweight)
Kelvin Seabrooks (Bantam)............
none of these guys was ever in a 'bad' fight!!!...... 8)

Some of these guys I have nevered seen fight !
But always looking for them.