Bantamweight Tournament Round 1: Carlos Zarate vs Chucho Castillo

Good fight, two skilled guys, but Zarate simply was better fighter......In his prime Chuco has the toughness and heart, so maybe he could give a tough fight, maybe...... Zarate is too dangerous with his counters for Castillo, also good chin, and great, great, great power !

Zarate vs Zamora came to mind instantly...and I can see the same thing happening here....

Zarate by late rounds TKO !

 

Are you comparing a skilled, smooth, tough, poised boxer like Castillo to a bomber with a shaky chin like Zamora?

Can't see many Bantamweights stopping a prime Castillo, although I suppose Zarate is as good a choice as any. I just doubt it would resemble the Zamora fight in any way.

 

Castillo has skills, yes...But Zamora has too..
And I dont know about Castillo s chin, the guy was knocked out by light-hitters jorneymen like Guillermo Tellez, Felipe Gonzalez..........and by very good fighters like Chacon and Lopez......Not in his prime, for sure, but chin has nothing to do with prime, in my humble opinion of course....

 

I'm not very clued in on those early losses, but it would seem that of his KO losses, almost all were of the TKO variety. Could've been down to cuts or some other such circumstance. Hopefully someone here has some info on those.

He proved his chin and toughness very well in the Olivares and Herrera fights, I thought. Moreso his skills, though, which would always keep him in any manner of fight, in my opinion.

 

Chucho Castillo was not a bomber but a world class counter-puncher who does not get his just due. Forget the early career where he was getting his footing and later when he moved up to 126. At his peak he engaged Olivares in a trilogy where he never once hit the canvas, counter-punched Jesus Pimental into knots, KO's Rafael Herrera, Bernardo Carraballo, Vlad Pinto and Evan Armstrong and outboxes/outfights Joe Medel and Rogelio Lara. If Zarate went out there looking for a KO, he would be in trouble. However, Zarate could box a bit when he wanted to and I feel he would need these skills on a tough 15 round decision over Castillo.

Scartissue

 

Zarate by a very close decision..not a ko or even a kd...Castillo, as has already been said, proved his chin quite impressively against a prime Olivares...3 fights..almost 44 rounds total without hitting the deck. it may have been possible even for Castillo to win a decision in a rematch vs Zarate.

 

Carlos Zarate,,,,,,,,long range bombs cut-up Chucho,,,TKO 7.

 

I think Castillo's all round game can give Zarate problem's, even more than any challenger he faced. I'm still gonna go for Zarate though to take it on points in a fight where every round is closely fought. The fans will be calling for a rematch.

 

Definitlely, Pintor proved that it can be used to effect against Zarate. I've got Zarate though, on the night, his strength and will to win would be a factor, i reckon it goes the distance but heavy artillery takes its toll and Zarate wins clear.

 

Pintor did well against Carlos when he counter punched, and other fighters like Davila had some success against him through the use of that method, too.

Castillo was a marvelous fighter, and an excellent counter puncher, and also has the advantage of being an extremely durable bantamweight, too. So and upset isn't out of the question...

But, by the same token, Zarate was capable of carrying his power into the later rounds, and of working patiently behind a jab and grinding them down with a sustained body attack (like he did with Ferrari). I think Chucho gives Carlos all sorts of problems, but ultimately, Zarate manages to come on in the later rounds to secure a close decision in a riveting, action-packed fight.

 

Castillo was quite different from Alfonso Zamora. A prime Castillo would have given Carlos Zarate a very competitive fight. Still, I feel that Zarate at his best would have prevailed over Chucho by close UD or maybe, even by a late round stoppage.

 

Castillo is a great counterpuncher. but Zarate is more precise with his punches than Olivares. & can box effectivley when he needs to. Castillo wont fall, but Zarate's punches would slice & dice Castillo into a bloody mess. forcing a stoppage about the 13th round. close bout for eleven rounds, till the blood hampers Chu Chu.