Catching Up With IBHOF Class of 2016 Inductee Hilario Zapata

Published

9 years ago

June 10, 2016

Inductee Hilario Zapata – Panama’s Hilario Zapata is remembered as one of the fighters with the most championship rounds ever fought, and his accomplishments in the rings may exceed that already extraordinary achievement. But he has always kept his true goal close to his heart.

“The thing I wanted to do the most, the first thing I told to every writer who ever interviewed me was: ‘I have to become greater than Roberto Duran, because he was always winning, and I was winning my fights too, and (Eusebio) Pedroza was winning and we all had a competition going,” said Zapata, a former two-division champion who will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, NY, this coming Sunday. “That was my motivation in boxing. And now that I have entered the Hall of Fame, I finally matched his accomplishment. Roberto is there, I am there now, and for me it is a source of pride to be next to him.”

Not only will the legendary Duran, arguably the most popular and best Latin American fighter ever, be next to Zapata in the growing list of legends inducted into the Hall of Fame, but Duran will also be literally at his side on Sunday to be the first one to congratulate him. Their healthy neighborhood rivalry for street bragging rights and title belts is long behind them now, and they have found a common ground as compatriots, as former fighters, and now as legends.

Zapata, who was named “The Sparkplug” in his heyday due to his lightning speed and jerky, sudden movements in the ring, was born in El Chorrillo, the same Panamanian slum in which Duran woke up every day determined to leave the place behind. And they both did. But first, the mean streets of the old barrio taught them lessons that they never forgot, and made them who they are today.

“I was a street brawler,” reminisces Zapata, talking about his rough childhood. “I was always fighting in school and in the streets. Not a day went by at school in which I didn’t fight. I used to defend other people, and find any excuse to fight. Until it came to a point where I said ‘I am not defending anyone else, if they want me to fight for them I have to get paid’,” said Zapata who rapidly figured out how to set up a reasonable fee structure that every one of his friends in distress could afford when it came to request a whooping to one of their foes.

“If someone wanted me to beat a guy who wasn’t much bigger than me, that was 25 cents. That’s what I charged. If the guy was bigger, it was 50 cents. That was a lot of money back then. And then I started as an amateur and had a great run”, he said, claiming about 175 amateur fights to his credit with only three losses. “And when I became a professional I had one goal in mind, which was to become a world champion, and I got it.”

And he did it with a victory in Japan against Shigeo Nakajima in what was only his 12^th professional bout, and his third one abroad. An accomplishment worthy of consideration, indeed, if only because it became merely the start of a legendary run in which he held the light flyweight title twice and the flyweight title as well, becoming second on the list of the most championship rounds ever fought with 304, right behind Emile Griffith’s 310. And he did it with a highly technical boxing style that allowed him to jump in and out of danger while connecting continuously with both hands from his awkward southpaw stance, always staying unpredictable and dangerous.

None of those goals, however, were there at the beginning of his career, when his one obsession had a name that he still mentions with a mix of reverence and veiled envy.

“When Duran lost his first fight and it became a competition between Pedroza and me, I thought ‘I have to keep up anyway, because Cholo will come back and he’ll be breathing on my neck again’. And of course, Cholo got back in the game and became champion again, and then I lost my title, but I worked hard to regain my title and I did, and said ‘I have to go on, because I must one-up Duran’, that was my wish. I wanted to be great, like Cholo, and even better. For me, this was an incentive to achieve everything I achieved, because everything I did in my career I did it to try to beat Roberto Duran.”

With Duran already in his fold as a friend and ally, the only remaining goal in Zapata’s career became to catch up with his two former enemies by earning the one honor that had been denied to him so far: the induction into the Boxing Hall of Fame.

That frustration ended with a call from WBA president Gilberto Mendoza.

“’Hilario, are you ready for the news?,’” recalls Zapata, when asked about how Mendoza told him about his induction. “He said ‘you got into the Hall of Fame’ and I started laughing with joy, so much so that even my hair was messed up, I looked like a cat. I said ‘no way, you’re lying’, but it was true, and my heart was beating fast and I was so excited. I was nominated on 17 occasions for the Hall of Fame, and I didn’t expect to enter this time. It wasn’t just the time I expected to be elected; it was the moment in which God wanted me to be inducted. It was now, and I thank God for this privilege.”

After giving the deities their due, it was time to call the IBHOF and express his gratitude

“I told him how excited I was to be in the same place of honor with Roberto Duran, with Panama Al Brown, that great boxer we had, Ismael Laguna, Eusebio Pedroza, and other glories,” recalls Zapata about his brief phone conversation with IBHOF director Ed Brophy. “And now it is my turn, I am the fifth Panamanian to be inducted”.

He is also a part of a group of three 2016 inductees that share the common trait of being proud Latino fighters representing different Central American countries.

“This is a great situation, because all three of us are very deserving of this honor”, said Zapata, about his fellow inductees. “Lupe Pintor is an excellent boxer and former champion, a warrior like all Mexicans. And what can we say about Macho Camacho? A man who acted crazy, but in all his craziness he had great fights. I am happy for him, even though he won’t be with us to celebrate that, but I feel happy to be honored alongside those two great fighters that are Lupe and Macho.”

Today, Zapata lives in Panama City and works at the headquarters of the Banco Hipotecario, a mortgage banking institution, as a messenger and mailroom attendant, living a quiet life with his wife and surrounded by friends. But his transit to a non-boxing life was marred by the usual problems that prizefighters have endured when making this adjustment.

“After my fight with (Amado Ursua), I made a mistake that no one should make. I got into drugs, but I finally made it out of that world. My career went down and up, and up and down again. At one point I felt that my work of so many years was going to be lost, and I had to decide between drugs and boxing, and unfortunately took the wrong path.”

Later, in more desperate times, he sought refuge in the word of the Lord, and he found the solace he craved for and a new chance to get his life back on track.

“I asked God for forgiveness, and I made a pact with God that remains unbroken up to this day. He has blessed me with His guidance,” said Zapata, who claims to be 16 years sober.

Aside from his job and his family life, Zapata runs a boxing program called “No to drugs, yes to sports,” in which youngsters compete for a special title created by Zapata and with the support of the Panamanian government, his fellow boxers and others who have gone through his same situation.

“I do this with the notion that the fighters have to understand the problem of drugs, because they are invited to listen to former addicts and alcoholics as part of the event, and they give testimony about how my life was and how I was able to overcome this situation,” said Zapata.

Editor’s note: Diego Morilla writes from Argentina. Tomorrow he catches up with fellow IBHOF inductee Lupe Pintor. Check The Boxing Channel for our continued coverage of Hall of Fame Weekend direct from Canastota.

Inductee Hilario Zapata

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Jorge Garcia is the TSS Fighter of the Month for April

Published

1 day ago

April 28, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Jorge Garcia has a lot in common with Mexican countrymen Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza. In common with those two, both reigning world title-holders, Garcia is big for his weight class and bubbled out of obscurity with a triumph forged as a heavy underdog in a match contested on American soil.

Garcia had his “coming of age party” on April 19 in the first boxing event at the new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California (roughly 35 miles north of San Diego), a 7,500-seat facility whose primary tenant is an indoor soccer team. It was a Golden Boy Promotions event and in the opposite corner was a Golden Boy fighter, Charles Conwell.

A former U.S. Olympian, Conwell was undefeated (21-0, 16 KOs) and had won three straight inside the distance since hooking up with Golden Boy whose PR department ballyhooed him as the most avoided fighter in the super welterweight division. At prominent betting sites, Conwell was as high as a 12/1 favorite.

The lanky Garcia was 32-4 (26 KOs) heading in, but it was easy to underestimate him as he had fought extensively in Tijuana where the boxing commission is notoriously docile and in his home state of Sinaloa. This would be only his second fight in the U.S. However, it was noteworthy in hindsight that three of his four losses were by split decision.

Garcia vs. Conwell was a robust affair. He and Conwell were credited with throwing 1451 punches combined. In terms of punches landed, there was little to choose between them but the CompuBox operator saw Garcia landing more power punches in eight of the 12 rounds. At the end, the verdict was split but there was no controversy.

An interested observer was Sebastian Fundora who was there to see his sister Gabriela defend her world flyweight titles. Sebastian owns two pieces of the 154-pound world title where the #1 contender per the WBO is Xander Zayas who keeps winning, but not with the verve of his earlier triumphs.

With his upset of Charles Conwell, Jorge Garcia has been bumped into the WBO’s #2 slot. Regardless of who he fights next, Garcia will earn the biggest payday of his career.

Honorable mention: Aaron McKenna

McKenna was favored to beat veteran campaigner Liam Smith in the co-feature to the Eubank-Benn battle this past Saturday in London, but he was stepping up in class against a former world title-holder who had competed against some of the top dogs in the middleweight division and who had famously stopped Chris Eubank Jr in the first of their two encounters. Moreover, the venue, Tottenham Hotspur, the third-largest soccer stadium in England, favored the 36-year-old Liverpudlian who was accustomed to a big fight atmosphere having fought Canelo Alvarez before 50,000-plus at Arlington Stadium in Texas.

McKenna, from the small town of Monaghan, Ireland, wasn’t overwhelmed by the occasion. With his dad Feargal in his corner and his fighting brother Stephen McKenna cheering him on from ringside, Aaron won a wide decision in his first 12-round fight, punctuating his victory by knocking Smith to his knees with a body punch in the 12^th round. In fact, if he hadn’t had a point deducted for using his elbow, the Irishman would have pitched a shutout on one of the scorecards.

“There might not be a more impressive example of a fighter moving up in class,” wrote Tris Dixon of the 25-year-old “Silencer” who improved his ledger to 20-0 (10).

Photo credits: Garcia/Conwell photo compliments of Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy; McKenna-Smith provided by Mark Robinson/Matchroom

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Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Published

3 days ago

April 27, 2025

David A. Avila

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Feudal bragging rights belong to Chris Eubank Jr. who out-lasted Conor Benn to
emerge victorious by unanimous decision in a non-title middleweight match held in
London on Saturday.

Fighting for their family heritage Eubank (35-3, 26 KOs) and Benn (23-1, 14 KOs)
continued the battle between families started 35 years ago by their fathers at Tottenham
Hotspur Stadium.

More than 65,000 fans attended.

Though Eubank Jr. had a weight and height advantage and a record of smashing his
way to victory via knockout, he had problems hurting the quicker and more agile Benn.
And though Benn had the advantage of moving up two weight divisions and forcing
Eubank to fight under a catch weight, the move did not weaken him much.

Instead, British fans and boxing fans across the world saw the two family rivals pummel
each other for all 12 rounds. Neither was able to gain separation.

Eubank looked physically bigger and used a ramming left jab to connect early in the
fight. Benn immediately showed off his speed advantage and surprised many with his
ability to absorb a big blow.Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Benn scrambled around with his quickness and agility and scored often with bigcounters.

It took him a few rounds to stop overextending himself while delivering power shots.

In the third round Benn staggered Eubank with a left hook but was unable to follow up
against the dangerous middleweight who roared back with flurries of blows.

Eubank was methodic in his approach always moving forward, always using his weight
advantage via the shoulder to force Benn backward. The smaller Benn rocketed
overhand rights and was partly successful but not enough to force Eubank to retreat.
In the seventh round a right uppercut snapped Benn’s head violently but he was
undeterred from firing back. Benn’s chin stood firm despite Eubank’s vaunted power and
size advantage.

“I didn’t know he had that in him,” Eubank said.

Benn opened strong in the eighth round with furious blows. And though he connected
he was unable to seriously hurt Eubank. And despite being drained by the weight loss,
the middleweight fighter remained strong all 12 rounds.

There were surprises from both fighters.

Benn was effective targeting the body. Perhaps if he had worked the body earlier he
would have found a better result.

With only two rounds remaining Eubank snapped off a right uppercut again and followed
up with body shots. In the final stanza Eubank pressed forward and exchanged with the
smaller Benn until the final bell. He simply out-landed the fighter and impressed all three
judges who scored it 116-112 for Eubank.

Eubank admitted he expected a knockout win but was satisfied with the victory.
“I under-estimated him,” Eubank said.

Benn was upset by the loss but recognized the reasons.

“He worked harder toward the end,” said Benn.

McKenna Wins

In his first test in the elite level Aaron McKenna (20-0, 10 KOs) showed his ability to fight
inside or out in soundly defeating former world champion Liam Smith (33-5-1, 20 KOs)
by unanimous decision to win a regional WBA middleweight title.

Smith has made a career out of upsetting young upstarts but discovered the Irish fighter
more than capable of mixing it up with the veteran. It was a rough fight throughout the
12 rounds but McKenna showed off his abilities to fight as a southpaw or right-hander
with nary a hiccup.

McKenna had trained in Southern California early in his career and since that time he’s
accrued a variety of ways to fight. He was smooth and relentless in using his longer
arms and agility against Smith on the outside or in close.

In the 12 th round, McKenna landed a perfectly timed left hook to the ribs and down went
Smith. The former champion got up and attempted to knock out the tall
Irish fighter but could not.

All three judges scored in favor of McKenna 119-108, 117-109, 118-108.

Other Bouts
Anthony Yarde (27-3) defeated Lyndon Arthur (24-3) by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. in a light heavyweight match. It was the third time they met. Yarde won the last two fights.

Chris Billam-Smith (21-2) defeated Brandon Glanton (20-3) by decision. It was his first
fight since losing the WBO cruiserweight world title to Gilberto Ramirez last November.

Viddal Riley (13-0) out-worked Cheavon Clarke (10-2) in a 12-round back-and-forth-contest to win a unanimous decision.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 323: Benn vs Eubank Family Feud and More

Published

5 days ago

April 24, 2025

David A. Avila

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Next generation rivals Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr. carry on the family legacy of feudal warring in the prize ring on Saturday.

This is huge in British boxing.

Eubank (34-3, 25 KOs) holds the fringe IBO middleweight title but won’t be defending it against the smaller welterweight Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) on Saturday, April 26, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.

This is about family pride.

The parents of Eubank and Benn actually began the feud in the 1990s.

Papa Nigel Benn fought Papa Chris Eubank twice. Losing as a middleweight in November 1990 at Birmingham, England, then fighting to a draw as a super middleweight in October 1993 in Manchester. Both were world title fights.

Eubank was undefeated and won the WBO middleweight world title in 1990 against Nigel Benn by knockout. He defended it three times before moving up and winning the vacant WBO super middleweight title in September 1991. He defended the super middleweight title 14 times before suffering his first pro defeat in March 1995 against Steve Collins.

Benn won the WBO middleweight title in April 1990 against Doug DeWitt and defended it once before losing to Eubank in November 1990. He moved up in weight and took the WBC super middleweight title from Mauro Galvano in Italy by technical knockout in October 1992. He defended the title nine times until losing in March 1996. His last fight was in November 1996, a loss to Steve Collins.

Animosity between the two families continues this weekend in the boxing ring.

Conor Benn, the son of Nigel, has fought mostly as a welterweight but lately has participated in the super welterweight division. He is several inches shorter in height than Eubank but has power and speed. Kind of a British version of Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

“It’s always personal, every opponent I fight is personal. People want to say it’s strictly business, but it’s never business. If someone is trying to put their hands on me, trying to render me unconscious, it’s never business,” said Benn.

This fight was scheduled twice before and cut short twice due to failed PED tests by Benn. The weight limit agreed upon is 160 pounds.

Eubank, a natural middleweight, has exchanged taunts with Benn for years. He recently avenged a loss to Liam Smith with a knockout victory in September 2023.

“This fight isn’t about size or weight. It’s about skill. It’s about dedication. It’s about expertise and all those areas in which I excel in,” said Eubank. “I have many, many more years of experience over Conor Benn, and that will be the deciding factor of the night.”

Because this fight was postponed twice, the animosity between the two feuding fighters has increased the attention of their fans. Both fighters are anxious to flatten each other.

“He’s another opponent in my way trying to crush my dreams. trying to take food off my plate and trying to render me unconscious. That’s how I look at him,” said Benn.

Eubank smiles.

“Whether it’s boxing, whether it’s a gun fight. Defense, offense, foot movement, speed, power. I am the superior boxer in each of those departments and so many more – which is why I’m so confident,” he said.

Supporting Bout

Former world champion Liam Smith (33-4-1, 20 KOs) tangles with Ireland’s Aaron McKenna (19-0, 10 KOs) in a middleweight fight set for 12 rounds on the Benn-Eubank undercard in London.

“Beefy” Smith has long been known as one of the fighting Smith brothers and recently lost to Eubank a year and a half ago. It was only the second time in 38 bouts he had been stopped. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez did it several years ago.

McKenna is a familiar name in Southern California. The Irish fighter fought numerous times on Golden Boy Promotion cards between 2017 and 2019 before returning to the United Kingdom and his assault on continuing the middleweight division. This is a big step for the tall Irish fighter.

It’s youth versus experience.

“I’ve been calling for big fights like this for the last two or three years, and it’s a fight I’m really excited for. I plan to make the most of it and make a statement win on Saturday night,” said McKenna, one of two fighting brothers.

Monster in L.A.

Japan’s super star Naoya “Monster” Inoue arrived in Los Angeles for last day workouts before his Las Vegas showdown against Ramon Cardenas on Sunday May 4, at T-Mobile Arena. ESPN will televise and stream the Top Rank card.

It’s been four years since the super bantamweight world champion performed in the US and during that time Naoya (29-0, 26 KOs) gathered world titles in different weight divisions. The Japanese slugger has also gained fame as perhaps the best fighter on the planet. Cardenas is 26-1 with 14 KOs.

Pomona Fights

Super featherweights Mathias Radcliffe (9-0-1) and Ezequiel Flores (6-4) lead a boxing card called “DMG Night of Champions” on Saturday April 26, at the historic Fox Theater in downtown Pomona, Calif.

Michaela Bracamontes (11-2-1) and Jesus Torres Beltran (8-4-1) will be fighting for a regional WBC super featherweight title. More than eight bouts are scheduled.

Doors open at 6 p.m. For ticket information go to: www.tix.com/dmgnightofchampions

Fights to Watch

Sat. DAZN 9 a.m. Conor Benn (23-0) vs Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3); Liam Smith (33-4-1) vs Aaron McKenna (19-0).

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