Bantams - Olivares or Zarate?

Olivares hit harder IMO, and was a better overall fighter.

At 122, If Olivares came in top condition, I could certainly see him beating Gomez although I would not favor him.

 

None that I can think of at the moment, but I'd have to check their records to be certain. Olivares was at featherweight when Zarate took over at bantam. He was basically done when Zarate entered his prime. Their careers just overlapped.

 

The only thing seperating Olivares from Jofre IMO was his inconsistency, brought on by his out of ring partying lifestyle. Just as skilled a fighter at his very best, but his inconsistent performances, combined with his lesser durability(as well as his tendancy to cut), put him just below Jofre on a list of the best Bantams of all time IMO.

In terms of pure power, I don't think either Ruben or Carlos had a significant advantage over the other. Both were great at economizing their attack, never neglecting the body in their assaults, always with great accuracy. Both brutal punchers, no clear edge IMO.

I think Olivares was overall, at his best, the better fighter, and would've fared better against Gomez.

 

Zarate was better IMO.

Olivares is a bit overrated IMO. Despite what many people believe, I don't think he was much better than Zamora was during their respective bantamweight peaks. Like Zamora, Olivares folded the first time he was ever tested on the inside and never really was the same, despite scoring some good wins later on. He also appeared to quit or mentally pack it in when things turned against him in some fights, something that rarely ever gets mentioned.

Granted, I don't believe Zarate was ever quite the same after Gomez beat him either, but at least there it took a guy above his weight class and one of the best ever at that weight to do it. And even then, I still thought Zarate beat Pintor (or at the very least got a draw) after that, and Pintor went on to be a damn good bantam champ himself. I'm really not so sure that Oliveres was much better (if at all) than Pintor either.

And no, I don't believe Olivares would've done much better against Gomez either.

 

Olivares was a partier, as I've mentioned. His inconsistent performances often had to do with outside forces in his life. At his best, little of the sstuff you've mentioned applied and he turned in some of the most dominating performances you're likely to see at Bantamweight. You're the one who's clearly underrating him. The opposition Zarate faced throughout his reign was nowhere near as good as the opposition Olivares faced, that is not even disputable IMO.

And as for your point about Olivares folding on the inside, what are you even referring to?

 

Fernando Cabanella fought both losing a dec to olivares in 76 and then in his next fight lost in 3 to Zarate for the title, but that doesn't give any clue to who was the better at bantam. Certainly Púas faced a better class of opposition but that doesn't necessarily mean that he was better as he lost a few along the way.
Zarate i feel was more mechanical and in a way more consistent while Púas was a bit more hazardous and perhaps also more exciting.
I agree that Olivares probably had a bit more power at least more one-punch power, but then Zarate could reach you better from the outside and was a bit more patient so that might even things up.
As for Gomez I feel that is a bad matchup for Púas as he would go to war and you didn't do that against Gomez at that weight and lived to tell about it.

 

Olivares is the greater fighter he looks better on film and has a better resume and he would have done better against Gomez I wouldn't favour him but he would have done better. Zarate never looked as good as Olivares did against Rose.

 

...............I'm sorry, but to suggest that Olivares was "not much better than Zamora" is ludicrous. Two different classes of fighter, they're not even remotely close.

 

Certainly lost on cuts to Castillo in 1970. But a full count would be hard to get hold of.

 

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Comparing the raw record numbers is the easy part! Who hit hardest is a very tough question. They were obviously both huge punchers as there KO laden records suggest.

There's probably an argument that Oliveras' opponents were better credentialled, certainly the early ones were. But Zarate's record is second to nobody, and you can only beat who gets in with you.

 

...........Nah; he was just an extraordinary banger. Watch Olivares box against Hafey in their rematch, and you'll see just how subtle and intelligent a fighter he was. Watch him set up and then move in on Arguello (at least until he got caught) and you'll see a skillset Zamora could never dream of having.