Carlos Zárate (boxer)

Jesús Carlos Zárate Serna (born May 23, 1951) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1970 to 1988, and held the WBC bantamweight title from 1976 to 1979.

Zárate was voted Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine in 1977. Zárate was ranked #21 in The Ring's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and voted as the #1 bantamweight (along with Rubén Olivares) of the 20th century by the Associated Press in 1999.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1994, Zárate was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He is also the father of once-defeated Light Welterweight prospect, Carlos Zárate, Jr.<ref name="boxrec">Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Carlos Zárate has family members who have followed him into boxing. His son Carlos, now retired, fought in the Light Welterweight division<ref name=RetirementJr>Template:Cite news</ref> and his nephew, Joel Luna Zárate, is the former WBO Latino Super Flyweight champion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Amateur career

Zárate, considered along with rival Wilfredo Gómez to be among the better punchers of the lighter divisions, had an amateur record of 33 wins and 3 losses, with 30 knockout wins, and he won the Mexican Golden Gloves, or Guantes de Oro, in 1969.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Professional career

In 1970, Carlos made his professional debut with a 2-round knockout win over Luis Castañeda in Cuernavaca. That marked the beginning of a 23-fight knockout winning streak. The only boxers to get past the third round during that streak were Al Torres and Antonio Castañeda, who lasted 5 and 9 rounds respectively, both at Tijuana. Víctor Ramírez became the first boxer to last the distance with Zárate when Zárate beat him on points in January 1974 in Mexico City over ten rounds. Next began his second 20 plus knockout wins in a row streak, when none of his next 28 opponents heard the final bell on their feet.

WBC Bantamweight championship

After knocking out former world title challenger Néstor Jiménez in two rounds at Mexicali to end 1975, the WBC made Zárate their number one challenger at the Bantamweight division. So, after beating César Desiga by a knockout in four on March 29, 1976, in Monterrey, Zárate was faced on the night of May 8 of that year with defending WBC Bantamweight Champion Rodolfo Martínez in Los Angeles. Zárate became a world Bantamweight champion by knocking his countryman out in the eighth round. Zárate next won two fights by a knockout in the second and then defended it against Paul Ferreri, who lost by knockout in 12 in Los Angeles too. He finished '76 with a four-round knockout over Waruinge Nakayama in a title defense held at Culiacán.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Fight against WBA Bantamweight champion

After beginning 1977 with a third-round knockout win over Colombia's Fernando Cabanela in Mexico City, Mexican boxing fans started talking about a possible unification bout between him and fellow Mexican Alfonso Zamora, the WBA's world Bantamweight champion. Nicknamed by the American boxing press as The Z Boys, the two did square off, but not before much hassle and hurdle putting by both the WBC and WBA, who wanted both boxers to pay a large amount of money before sanctioning the bout. So, the California state boxing commission decided to sanction it as a ten-round, non-title bout instead. Fans didn't seem to care that no world title belt would be involved that afternoon, and they packed the fight venue when Zárate and Zamora met in the LA suburb of Inglewood, California, at the Forum on April 23 of '77. Zárate made the tactical mistake of going toe to toe with a shorter but harder hitting puncher. Zárate got tagged repeatedly and then a man wearing a white tank top and grey sweat pants entered the ring. The fight was momentarily stopped by referee Richard Steele and a contingent of helmeted policemen stormed the ring, forcibly removing the intruder thereafter, Zárate managed to stay away from Zamora. After a first round, Zárate the better boxer, with a reach advantage stayed away and outboxed Zamora wearing him down then knocking him out in four to gain recognition by most boxing fans as the undisputed world champion of the Bantamweights. Then, he retained the WBC title with a knockout in six over Danilo Batista, and finished 1977 with a trip to Spain, where he retained the belt against challenger Juan Francisco Rodríguez, beaten in five.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1978, Zárate started out by meeting future world champion Alberto Dávila, whom he knocked out in eight at Los Angeles to retain his belt. Then, in April of that year, he made his first of two trips to Puerto Rico that year, to fight challenger Andres Hernandez, who lasted until the 13th. round at San Juan's Roberto Clemente coliseum.

Zárate vs. Gómez

After retaining the title against Emilio Hernandez by a knockout in four and winning a non-title bout, Zárate announced he was moving up in weight and challenging the WBC Super Bantamweight champion, Wilfredo Gómez. According to many experts and the Ring Magazine book The Ring: Boxing In The 20th Century, Gómez and Zárate had the highest knockout win percentage of any two champions paired inside a ring in a world title fight: When Gómez and Zárate met on October 28, also at Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, the challenger and still world Bantamweight champion Zárate was 52–0 with 51 knockouts, while defending world Super Bantamweight champion Gómez was 21-0-1 with 21 knockouts. Zárate went to the floor four times and tasted the sour taste of defeat for the first time in his career when he was beaten by a knockout in five rounds.

Return to Bantamweight

In 1979, Zárate made what would turn out to be his last successful defense, with a third-round knockout win over Mensah Kpalongo in Los Angeles. After winning a non-title bout against Celso Cháirez by a knockout in five in Houston, Texas, Zárate met gym-mate Lupe Pintor in Las Vegas and lost a close and controversial 15-round decision. Enraged by losing a decision he (as well as many fans) thought undeserved, he announced his retirement from boxing and vowed never to fight as a professional again.

Five year retirement

Zárate spent five years in retirement, but the temptation of the public adulation boxers receive when they become champions and the aroma of the boxing ring led him back into competition as a boxer. Despite still retaining an acceptable amount of his boxing ability, Zárate was nonetheless, a shadow of what he was before his 5-year retirement. In his return bout in 1986 against Adam García, he won a four-round decision. 11 more victories in a row, all by knockout, including one over then number one world Super Bantamweight challenger Richard Savage (knocked out by Zárate in five in Mexico City), made him the WBC's number one challenger at the Super Bantamweight division once again.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

And so, in October 1987, he traveled to Australia to meet the man boxing fans consider to be the greatest Australian world champion of all time: Jeff Fenech. In a fight contested for Fenech's world Super Bantamweight title, Zárate lost by a four-round technical decision. After Fenech vacated the title soon after to pursue the world Featherweight crown, Zárate and countryman Daniel Zaragoza met for the vacant world championship belt, but Zárate came back on the losing end once again, being knocked out in the tenth round and finally announcing his retirement for good.

During the 1990s he also became a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame, and in 2003, he and Wilfredo Gómez met at a boxing undercard in Puerto Rico to commemorate the 25th anniversary of their boxing bout.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He had a record of 66 wins and 4 losses as a professional boxer, with 63 wins by knockout.

Carlos Zárate was voted as the Greatest Bantamweight Ever in 2014 by the Houston Boxing Hall Of Fame. The HBHOF is a voting body composed entirely of current and former fighters.

Professional boxing record

Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
70	Template:No2Loss	66–4	Daniel Zaragoza	TKO	10 (12)	1988-02-29	Template:Small	Template:Small
69	Template:No2Loss	66–3	Jeff Fenech	TD	4 (12)	1987-10-16	Template:Small	Template:Small
68	Template:Yes2Win	66–2	Richard Savage	TKO	5 (10)	1987-08-15	Template:Small
67	Template:Yes2Win	65–2	Tony Montoya	TKO	3 (10)	1987-06-19	Template:Small
66	Template:Yes2Win	64–2	John Boyd	TKO	5 (10)	1987-05-05	Template:Small
65	Template:Yes2Win	63–2	Francis Childs	KO	4 (10)	1987-02-20	Template:Small
64	Template:Yes2Win	62–2	Alex Galván	TKO	7 (10)	1986-12-13	Template:Small
63	Template:Yes2Win	61–2	Edward Rodriquez	TKO	3 (10)	1986-11-21	Template:Small
62	Template:Yes2Win	60–2	Gerardo Esparza	KO	5 (8)	1986-09-13	Template:Small
61	Template:Yes2Win	59–2	Alejandro García	KO	2 (10)	1986-07-19	Template:Small
60	Template:Yes2Win	58–2	Jesus Muñiz	UD	10	1986-05-23	Template:Small
59	Template:Yes2Win	57–2	Héctor Nápoles	KO	2 (8)	1986-05-05	Template:Small
58	Template:Yes2Win	56–2	Jose de la Dora	KO	3 (6)	1986-04-12	Template:Small
57	Template:Yes2Win	55–2	Adam García	MD	4	1986-02-25	Template:Small
56	Template:No2Loss	54–2	Lupe Pintor	SD	15	1979-06-03	Template:Small	Template:Small
55	Template:Yes2Win	54–1	Celso Chairez	TKO	5 (10)	1979-05-01	Template:Small
54	Template:Yes2Win	53–1	John Kodjo Mensah	KO	3 (15)	1979-03-10	Template:Small	Template:Small
53	Template:No2Loss	52–1	Wilfredo Gómez	TKO	5 (15)	1978-10-28	Template:Small	Template:Small
52	Template:Yes2Win	52–0	Rudy González	TKO	4 (10)	1978-09-30	Template:Small
51	Template:Yes2Win	51–0	Emilio Hernández	KO	4 (15)	Jun 9, 1978	Template:Small	Template:Small
50	Template:Yes2Win	50–0	Andres Hernández	TKO	13 (15)	1978-04-22	Template:Small	Template:Small
49	Template:Yes2Win	49–0	Alberto Dávila	TKO	8 (15)	1978-02-25	Template:Small	Template:Small
48	Template:Yes2Win	48–0	Juan Francisco Rodríguez	TKO	5 (15)	1977-12-02	Template:Small	Template:Small
47	Template:Yes2Win	47–0	Danilo Batista	KO	6 (15)	1977-10-29	Template:Small	Template:Small
46	Template:Yes2Win	46–0	Alfonso Zamora	TKO	4 (15)	1977-04-23	Template:Small
45	Template:Yes2Win	45–0	Fernando Cabanela	TKO	3 (15)	1977-02-05	Template:Small	Template:Small
44	Template:Yes2Win	44–0	Waruinge Nakayama	KO	4 (15)	1976-11-13	Template:Small	Template:Small
43	Template:Yes2Win	43–0	Paul Ferreri	TKO	12 (15)	1976-08-28	Template:Small	Template:Small
42	Template:Yes2Win	42–0	Antonio Paredes	TKO	2 (10)	1976-08-02	Template:Small
41	Template:Yes2Win	41–0	Félix Llanos	KO	2 (10)	1976-06-26	Template:Small
40	Template:Yes2Win	40–0	Rodolfo Martínez	KO	9 (15)	1976-05-08	Template:Small	Template:Small
39	Template:Yes2Win	39–0	César Deciga	TKO	4 (10)	1976-03-27	Template:Small
38	Template:Yes2Win	38–0	Néstor Jiménez	KO	2 (10)	1975-12-07	Template:Small
37	Template:Yes2Win	37–0	Jorge Torres	TKO	8 (10)	1975-10-11	Template:Small
36	Template:Yes2Win	36–0	Benicio Segundo Sosa	TKO	4 (10)	1975-09-20	Template:Small
35	Template:Yes2Win	35–0	José Sánchez	TKO	3 (8)	1975-08-16	Template:Small
34	Template:Yes2Win	34–0	Orlando Amores	KO	3 (10)	1975-06-20	Template:Small
33	Template:Yes2Win	33–0	Joe Guevara	RTD	3 (12)	1975-03-14	Template:Small	Template:Small
32	Template:Yes2Win	32–0	Alberto Cabanig	TKO	4 (10)	1975-02-04	Template:Small
31	Template:Yes2Win	31–0	James Martinez	TKO	7 (10)	1974-11-23	Template:Small
30	Template:Yes2Win	30–0	Francisco Cruz	TKO	2 (10)	1974-10-27	Template:Small
29	Template:Yes2Win	29–0	Magallo Lozada	TKO	5 (10)	1974-08-03	Template:Small
28	Template:Yes2Win	28–0	Juan Ordoñez	KO	3 (10)	1974-05-25	Template:Small
27	Template:Yes2Win	27–0	Chamaco Limón	KO	3 (10)	1974-05-03	Template:Small
26	Template:Yes2Win	26–0	Alfonso Ibarra	KO	2 (10)	1974-04-09	Template:Small
25	Template:Yes2Win	25–0	Carlos Armenta	KO	1 (10)	1974-02-22	Template:Small
24	Template:Yes2Win	24–0	Víctor Ramírez	UD	10	1974-01-30	Template:Small
23	Template:Yes2Win	23–0	Sixto Pérez	KO	2 (8)	1973-12-11	Template:Small
22	Template:Yes2Win	22–0	Eduardo Miranda	KO	5 (10)	1973-11-01	Template:Small
21	Template:Yes2Win	21–0	Antonio Castañeda	TKO	9 (10)	1973-10-02	Template:Small
20	Template:Yes2Win	20–0	Alberto Torres	TKO	5 (10)	1973-08-21	Template:Small
19	Template:Yes2Win	19–0	Francisco Pino	KO	2 (10)	1973-07-12	Template:Small
18	Template:Yes2Win	18–0	Juan Ramón Pérez	KO	2 (10)	1973-06-02	Template:Small
17	Template:Yes2Win	17–0	Juan Ramón Pérez	KO	2 (8)	1972-12-03	Template:Small
16	Template:Yes2Win	16–0	Armando Carrasco	KO	2 (8)	1972-10-31	Template:Small
15	Template:Yes2Win	15–0	Angel Patiño	KO	2 (8)	1972-10-08	Template:Small
14	Template:Yes2Win	14–0	Jesús Escobedo	KO	2 (8)	1972-08-19	Template:Small
13	Template:Yes2Win	13–0	José Luis Morales	TKO	2 (8)	1972-03-19	Template:Small
12	Template:Yes2Win	12–0	José González	KO	2 (8)	1972-02-07	Template:Small
11	Template:Yes2Win	11–0	Emiliano Mayoral	TKO	3 (8)	1972-01-28	Template:Small
10	Template:Yes2Win	10–0	Victor Nava	KO	3 (8)	1971-11-26	Template:Small
9	Template:Yes2Win	9–0	Julio Martínez	KO	2 (8)	1971-08-07	Template:Small
8	Template:Yes2Win	8–0	Ramón Pinedo	KO	2 (6)	1971-05-05	Template:Small
7	Template:Yes2Win	7–0	Fermín Ramos	KO	2 (6)	1971-03-20	Template:Small
6	Template:Yes2Win	6–0	Antonio Lucas	KO	3 (6)	1971-02-15	Template:Small
5	Template:Yes2Win	5–0	Alfredo Pérez	KO	2 (6)	1970-12-18	Template:Small
4	Template:Yes2Win	4–0	Nuno Temix	TKO	3 (6)	1970-11-17	Template:Small
3	Template:Yes2Win	3–0	Costeñito Sotelo	KO	2 (4)	1970-04-01	Template:Small
2	Template:Yes2Win	2–0	José Pavón	KO	1 (4)	1970-03-02	Template:Small
1	Template:Yes2Win	1–0	Luis Castañeda	KO	3 (4)	1970-02-02	Template:Small

See also

• List of world bantamweight boxing champions
• List of Mexican boxing world champions
• Notable boxing families

External links

• Template:Boxrec