Carlos Zarate - Thoughts?

Maybe he is the best puncher at BW.....it´s between Zarate, Olivares and perhaps Zamora...Did you watch his fight against Zamora ?

Yes, he looks like Arguello in style.....but I would say he had a better jab (it´s close, possibly some people will disagree)....a better boxer-puncher, a pure boxer-puncher actually.....IMO

DEcent footwork, great uppercut ! Great accurancy, great body puncher....

 

He kind of was the Arguello of the Bantamweight division, with some notable differences, of course. He was more nimble on his feet than Arguello, for one. Then again, as you say he was probably more stiff, more compact with his punches whereas Arguello had a much looser feel.

The similarities were in their general makeup. The way they'd approach a fight, the route they'd take to win, and of course their physical presence and punching power that allowed that route to be taken with such regular success. Both were susceptible to being out-boxed early on (although Zarate was the quicker starter of the two), but always seemed to find the range by about the half-way point or so (again, usually sooner for Zarate, but the opposition played a role in this, along with those small differences in style). Great stalkers, if you will. They'd pick and prod, hit you with hard shots, and slowly put you on the defensive over the course of the fight, all the while closing in inch by inch until they had you trapped and they were ready to pounce. Arguello was more paced and deliberate with this method, whereas Zarate was often quicker off the draw and more swarmer-esque in his combination attack once he'd gotten into his groove or felt he had the opponent where he wanted him. It was pretty scary to watch when he got into that mode. No escaping.

As for Zarate himself, he was definitely more of the accumulation type, but one that possessed the power to put you out or going with one shot. I've already touched the bases on what made him such a great accumulation puncher (watch his fights with the likes of Davila, Martinez, Ferreri, Hernandez, Batista, etc. to see examples). His fight with Amores is a good one to see his one punch power.

When you go over the arc that most of his fights had he really is a supremely difficult one to bet against over the 15 round distance at Bantam.

 

But, with all that said, he was never going to beat Gomez.

 

Great post.I'd add that he liked(and had more ability) to trade at close-range\fight inside more than Arguello.

I'd say he was more complete fighter technically than Alexis, but not as strong durability or mentality-wise.

Zamora was probably the bigger puncher of the three Mexicans, but the least gifted overall.Olivares and Zarate for me, really didn't have notably more one punch power than other big punchers not usually rated quite as highly for raw power ie..Duran, Jofre, Gomez

 

Interesting thing, I think, about Zarate is that his go-to punch was a short left uppercut to the stomach. Watch tape of him; he is constantly slipping that punch in.

 

Vic, how do you think Eder Jofre's power rank's with the names you listed?

 

His right hand was great, his left hook especially to the body as well......but as far as one punch power goes, I think the 3 mexicans were a little higher.....just a bit......(it´s very close to be honest, at least for me)

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjZK8cERNbs[/ame]

This opponent is probably Robert Porcel (I´m not sure).......and even at FW, his right was still seriously powerful:yep

 

He was nothing like Arguello, that comparison is null and void (stylistically at least).

They had similar attributes in terms of power and perhaps stature/"look", but that's about as far as it goes. Zarate was much more of a boxer and was more versatile whereas Arguello's strategy was essentially to sit on his arse all night and wait until the opponent ****ed up and ran into a bomb.

 

Ummmm......no.

 

Disregard what itryhard says and watch the Davila fight.

 

You're joking, aren't you?atsch

 

He's not a fan of Arguello, Monzon, or Foster, to put it mildly. In other words, he's not your kind of poster, red cobra.

 

The knockout of young Pedroza looks very impressive.