BoxRec

i was watching my Fenech DVD the other day and i got up to the fight with Carlos Zarate. it said that he was one of the all time greats so i decided to look him up on here.
he has an impressive record but i noticed he fought lots of bums or fighters making their pro debuts. and he one defended the bantamweight title aginst a guy with a 2-3 record...
was this guy really good?

I noticed when a fighter is from Mexico and he fights alot of his early fights in his home country that a lot of his fights are against fighters with a 0-0 record. I just wonder if that is because their were no records available for some of those fights.

Carlos Zarate was very good.

He was a complete fighter - a great puncher with a stocked arsenal, as well as a cagey boxer with an assortment of skills. He could put a guy down and out with either hand and was a fearsome bodypuncher - that left uppercut to the liver hurt so many fighters. A great bantamweight second only to Eder Jofre.

Strong, strong fighter. He walked through opponents. In fact, he was threatening to do the same to Gomez when he got caught and never recovered. I was surprised at his performance in that fight up to the finish.

thunderfromdownunder wrote:i was watching my Fenech DVD the other day and i got up to the fight with Carlos Zarate. it said that he was one of the all time greats so i decided to look him up on here.
he has an impressive record but i noticed he fought lots of bums or fighters making their pro debuts. and he one defended the bantamweight title aginst a guy with a 2-3 record...
was this guy really good?

One of the greats without question at BW - Lost to W. Gomez (moving up in weight) - He had brutal power, very good jab and a slick style too a degree to boot -

A guy that twice recorded streaks of 20 or more knockout wins is incredible in intself. His knockout percentage as a professional is unreal (95%). His amateur career was great, too.

His knockout win over Alfonso Zamora was impressive. Should have been a title fight.

kick asner wrote:I noticed when a fighter is from Mexico and he fights alot of his early fights in his home country that a lot of his fights are against fighters with a 0-0 record. I just wonder if that is because their were no records available for some of those fights.

I believe in Zarate's case, this is true for his opponents. Zarate is a true Mexican great, usually a bit forgotten now because of the great champions Mexico has produced, he is truly an amazing fighter to watch. His jab seemed almost like a power shot at times. One of the most balanced fighters i've ever seen he truly mastered using leverage on his punches. His KO percentage is rivaled by a select few, he was a bit overshadowed by Olivares and his loss to Gomez didn't help because Sanchez was seen as the new Mexican great. Truly a great fighter, he should never be forgotten, not only for Mexican fight fans, but for any true fight fan.

He was a terror back in the seventies at bantam . He really made his bones koing Alfonso Zamora in a huge fight.

Yeah? Well that big mole on your chin don't look so great either...but we were nice enough to not talk about it........until now.