Any thoughts on the 2 fight rivalry between Hilario Zapata and Fidel Bassa? Both guys put on a competitive, skillfully fought fight where it was very close between the two. Great match up between 2 smooth stylists. Officially Bassa won the first bout while the second fight was declared a draw. Worth a watch if you haven't seen it yet. This content is protected This content is protected
Hilario Zapata, panamanian patriot, was an incredible and severely underrated champion with great technique.
Like most of Zapata's controversial losses, and in true enigmatic defensive master fashion, they give the impression he could have won them if he'd been even slightly more consistently active offensively and less enamoured with his own elusiveness. Very hard fights to score, but I think he probably did enough to win the second, though I could do with rewatching it. The first fight had that controversial moment where he gets attacked/hampered by someone from outside the ring, which could well have effected him. Both fights were held in a serously hostile environment for the away fighter. Bassa always reminded me of a Flyweight pre weight drained Kalule with his feinting style, smooth feet, technical economy and distance control, though he was more of a counterpuncher and less of a straight-lead sharpshooter. Not an easy style of technician for a defensive minded pure boxer to fight as you get little mistake material a lot of angles and regular highly precise straight shots coming back at you, even if they're not too hard hitting. A hard matchup for both fighters really, where you can see them both having to think hard in there.
