Daniel Zaragoza

Daniel Zaragoza is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1997. He was born on December 11, 1957, in Mexico City, Mexico. This southpaw reached the pinnacle of his sport by winning multiple world titles in two different weight classes. Zaragoza fought a total of 66 times during his professional career, winning 55 of those bouts. He has 28 knockout victories to his name and four world titles. The Mexican fighter was also inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004.

Zaragoza made his professional boxing debut in October 1980 against Ernesto Gutierrez, which he won via a fourth-round knockout. He went on to win his first 13 fights, nine of which were by stoppages. Zaragoza had a total of eight losses in his professional boxing career — five of them in title bouts and three in non-title bouts. He suffered his first loss against Harold Petty via a 10-round unanimous decision on July 29, 1982, which ended his 14-fight win streak. He has been stopped two times and lost six times via decision. Zaragoza retired from professional boxing with a record of 55-8-3, with 28 knockout wins and two losses via knockout, and four title wins.

In May 1985, Zaragoza won his first world title by defeating Jorge Ramirez via a seventh-round disqualification. With this victory, he became the WBC bantamweight world champion. He faced Miguel "Happy" Lora on June 28, 1986, in his first title defense, but lost the belt to the Colombian in a unanimous decision. In his next bout in 1986, he suffered a non-title loss to IBF Bantamweight Champion and future International Boxing Hall of Fame member Jeff Fenech in Australia.

Six months later, Zaragoza moved up in weight class and scored seven consecutive wins before capturing the vacant WBC Super Bantamweight title with a knockout win over future hall of fame member Carlos Zarate on November 26, 1988. In February 1990, he lost the belt to Paul Banke whom he had defeated just three fights prior. Banke would go on to lose the title by knockout against Pedro Ruben Decima, who in turn was knocked out by Kiyoshi Hatanaka.

In 1991, Zaragoza regained the belt with a split decision win over Hatanaka in Japan. He defended the belt against Chun Huh (25-2-0) of South Korea and avenged his loss to Paul Banke. In 1992, he lost his title to Thierry Jacob by decision in France. In his next two fights, he battled newly crowned WBC super bantamweight titleholder Tracy Harris Patterson, who had recently defeated Jacob. He fought to a draw with Patterson in the first bout and lost by technical knockout in the second bout when the fight was stopped due to a cut despite the objections of Zaragoza.

However, Zaragoza's career was not over yet. In 1995, he would yet again get another crack at the title against WBC Super Bantamweight champion Hector Acero Sanchez, who had defeated Tracy Harris Patterson to win the title. The bout was controversially ruled a draw with most observers believing Zaragoza should have been declared the winner. He fought a rematch with Sanchez later in the year and won the belt via split decision. At 36 years 11 months, he became the oldest super bantamweight champion in history.

This began a late-career surge for Zaragoza, who was able to defend the title four times, including two wins against former and future champion Joichiro Tatsuyoshi in Japan, a TKO win over Tsuyoshi Harada (20-1-0) also in Japan, and an upset win against undefeated bantamweight champion Wayne McCullough, who had recently moved up in weight. On September 6, 1997, he lost his title to then-undefeated 21-year-old Erik Morales, who knocked out Zaragoza in the 11th round.

Zaragoza's professional boxing career spanned more than 16 years, from 1980 to 1997. For all the details about Zaragoza's world title wins and defenses refer to "Daniel Zaragoza World Titles". Some of Zaragoza's best fights and notable victories include wins over Hall-of-Famer Carlos Zarate Serna, Valerio Nati, Alejandro Batista, Hector Acero Sanchez, Nino Ruiz, Wilfredo Vargas, Wilfredo Urbina, and Tsuyoshi Harada.

Zaragoza has a compelling record with 55 wins, eight losses, three draws, and no no-contests in his professional career. Out of the 66 fights, he has 28 knockout victories, which represents 42.42% of his total wins through knockouts. He has contested a total of 351 rounds in his boxing career, with an average of 5.31 rounds per fight. Zaragoza stands at a height of 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) and has a reach of 68 in (173 cm). He fought in the bantamweight and super bantamweight categories.

Zaragoza's career highlights include winning his first world title by defeating Jorge Ramirez via a seventh-round disqualification in May 1985, becoming the WBC bantamweight world champion. Another significant achievement came in November 26, 1988, when he successfully defended the WBC super-bantamweight title against Valerio Nati, winning the fight via a fifth-round knockout.

Many factors contributed to Zaragoza's success in the boxing ring, including his left-handed fighting stance, which made it challenging for his opponents to anticipate his attacks. Besides, Zaragoza was a patient fighter and rarely made mistakes, which helped him capitalize on his opponent's errors. His excellent punching power and quick reflexes also contributed to his success in the ring.

In conclusion, Daniel Zaragoza is a legendary Mexican boxer who was one of the best fighters in his era. He won multiple world titles in two weight classes, capturing the WBC bantamweight title in 1985 and the WBC super-bantamweight title between 1988 and 1997. Zaragoza fought in 66 professional fights, winning 55 of those bouts, including 28 knockout victories. He

Daniel Zaragoza Fight Record