Opinions on late 70s Bantamweight champ, Jorge Lujan. Very overlooked as far as Panamanians go. Obviously, he'll always remain in the shadow of guys like Duran, Pedroza, Laguna, Marcel, and Zapara. But Lujan was quite a technician.
For a guy that really didn't deserve a title shot, he did quite well. He came rolling in with a group of fighters that were really owing to the Panama-friendly WBA, but made the most of it. Zamora's people couldn't take on a worse opponent. A fast counter-puncher with a great jaw. The bane of every big slugger. Wins over Zamora, Davila and Rubaldino really stand out during his prime, they were great. However, I had to laugh after losing his title to Julian Solis, he gets a title shot at Solis' successor Jeff Chandler. OK, I can see that one. But after losing to Chandler he loses to Rubaldino, a man he had beaten twice. So with 3 losses in a row, how does the WBA reward him? With another tile shot, this time against Sergio Palma. The WBA have never had any shame.
I don't know much about Lujan, beyond the Davila and Zamora fights but I have met Mr. Rubaldino. He lives in Donna, Texas, and has a gym built on to his house where he and his sons train boxers. It was my privilege and honor to take guys there for sparring several times.
Like many Panamanian boxers, he was well connected with the WBA. Obviously, his best win was the upset of Alfonzo Zamora for the WBA 118 lb title. Zamora may have been ripe for the taking, though, as he had been recently stopped by Carlos Zarate. That was a match-up of WBC and WBA champs but I guess the WBA title wasn't on the line. After losing the WBA 118 lb title to Julian Solis, Lujuan got a shot at Jeff Chandler's WBA 118 lb title, a shot at Sergio Palmas WBA 122 lb title and a shot at Pedrozas WBA 126 lb title. Also went the distance with WBC 118 lb titlist Lupe Pintor in a non title fight. He was extremely durable with a great chin.
Regarding Zarata-Zamora, neither man's title was on the line, nor was it on a major U.S. tv network. With that in mind, it's amazing the fight was made at all.
I see he did have a win over Albert Davila. That's a quality win, but I have never seen it and wonder if WBA home cooking was involved in the decision. It he legitimately beat Davila, then that is impressive.
For what it's worth, the Davila fight was extremely close imo. I think Lujan won, just barely, but Davila ran him close.
