WILFREDO GOMEZ w rsf 5 CARLOS ZARATE
October 28, 1978; Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico
THERE are contrasting reports on Carlos Zarate’s record before he moved up a division to challenge WBC super-bantamweight boss, Wilfredo Gomez. Worst case scenario the 26-year-old was at 50-0 (49) though some sources cite the WBC bantamweight titlist could boast figures of 54-0 (53). Either way, with Puerto Rico’s 22-year-old Gomez at 21-0-1 (20), this represented one of the best matchups of a glittering decade going in. It can also be identified as the fight that ignited the fistic rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico. In front of a wildly-pro Gomez crowd, the younger man started quickly. Zarate bossed the third before Gomez snared control during a frenetic fourth, dropping his man with a counter hook. Zarate was rescued in the fifth.
DID YOU KNOW? Zarate would later say
he was very ill and in no condition to fight. When he tried to pull out he
claimed he was threatened with legal action.
WATCH OUT FOR: The left hook that floors Zarate and Gomez subsequently screaming at his fallen rival.