Hey Guys, Been a long time admirer & fan of boxing. Yet, my memory is starting to wane. Please help me with this boxing mystery. I came back from the Military in June 82. Between 82-84, the early days of ESPN, I watched several fights of a big Spanish/Mexican heavyweight boxer. He was a knock out artist, mostly via a monster right hand...very little defense or cardio. His name eludes me...yet it something akin to this, Zia Phinai...Zar Phenax...arrrggg!! Any clues?? Thanks in advance Reggie T.
I wish I had the answer, but I do have some suggestions to help. If you haven't already, going to Boxrec and under Ratings setting the parameters to "All," "Mexican," and "Heavy" might be a decent start, you could check some names that sound similar to that. Also I'd advise asking a staff member to move this thread to the Classic section, you might have better luck getting an answer there. Best of luck in your search, I'm interested in hearing more about this.
The dates are slightly off, but the description fits Bernardo Mercado, except for the name, to a tee. 6'4 Colombian heavyweight with a record of 33-5 and 28 KOs. He knocked Berbick out in 1979 and Shavers out in 1980. He lost to Cobb in 81, but but his only fight from 82-84 was vs a complete no name and it probably wasn't televised. The only guy with a Mexican sounding name who was notable around 82-24 is Lucien Rodriguez. Rodriguez won the European title in 81, defended it a bunch of times and went the distance with Holmes in 1983. Definitely not a knockout artist, though.
I was thinking of Mercado too, but yeah, Columbian. Evangelista was Uraguayan. Adilson Rodriguez out of Brazil.
