Daniel Zaragoza facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Daniel Zaragoza |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Nickname(s) | El Ratón ("The Mouse") |
| Rated at |
|
| Height | 5 ft 7 in |
| Reach | 68 in |
| Born | 11 December 1957 Mexico City, Mexico |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 66 |
| Wins | 55 |
| Wins by KO | 28 |
| Losses | 8 |
| Draws | 3 |
Daniel Zaragoza (born December 11, 1957) is a famous Mexican former professional boxer. He competed from 1980 to 1997. Daniel was a world champion in two different weight classes. He held the WBC bantamweight title in 1985. He also held the WBC super bantamweight title for a long time, between 1988 and 1997.
Contents
Early Boxing Days: Amateur Career
Before turning professional, Daniel Zaragoza was a talented amateur boxer.
- In 1979, he represented Mexico at the Pan-American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He won against Alfonso Abata from Ecuador.
- He also competed for Mexico in the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. There, he won against boxers from Ireland and Great Britain.
Becoming a Professional Boxer
Daniel Zaragoza started his professional boxing career in October 1980. He won his very first fight against Ernesto Gutierrez.
Winning the WBC Bantamweight Title
In 1985, Daniel won his first big title. He became the WBC Bantamweight champion. He won this title in a fight against Freddie Jackson in Aruba. Daniel won because Freddie Jackson was disqualified for breaking the rules.
However, he lost this title in his very next fight to Miguel "Happy" Lora. After that, in 1986, he fought against Jeff Fenech, another famous boxer. Daniel lost that fight, but it wasn't for a title.
Becoming a Super Bantamweight Champion
After losing his bantamweight title, Zaragoza decided to move up to a heavier weight class. This new class was called Super bantamweight. He won seven fights in a row! This winning streak led him to another chance at a world title.
In 1988, he fought for the vacant WBC Super bantamweight title. He won this title by knocking out Carlos Zarate in the tenth round. Carlos Zarate was also a very famous boxer.
Daniel was very good at defending his new title. He kept it five times!
- He had a tough fight in South Korea against Lee Seung-hoon, which ended in a draw (a tie).
- He knocked out Valerio Nati in Italy.
- He won a decision against Paul Banke in the first of their three fights.
- He knocked out Frankie Duarte.
- He won a decision against Chan-Yong Park in South Korea.
In 1990, Daniel lost his super bantamweight title to Paul Banke, the same boxer he had beaten before. But Daniel didn't give up! In 1991, he won the belt back by beating Kiyoshi Hatanaka in Japan. He defended the title two more times. In 1992, he lost his title again to Thierry Jacob in France.
The Oldest Super Bantamweight Champion
Daniel Zaragoza kept fighting and got another chance at the WBC Super Bantamweight title in 1995. He fought Hector Acero Sánchez. Their first fight was a draw, which many people thought Daniel should have won. But in their rematch later that year, Daniel won the title back! He won by a split decision, meaning the judges were divided but he got the win.
At 36 years and 11 months old, Daniel Zaragoza became the oldest super bantamweight champion ever! This was a huge achievement.
He continued to defend his title four more times. He won two fights against Joichiro Tatsuyoshi in Japan. He also won against Tsuyoshi Harada and Wayne McCullough. On September 6, 1997, he lost his title to a young, undefeated boxer named Erik Morales. Daniel was knocked out in the 11th round. After this fight, Daniel Zaragoza retired from boxing at 39 years old. His final record was 55 wins, 8 losses, and 3 draws.
Retirement
After his amazing career, Daniel Zaragoza was honored for his achievements. In 2004, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. This means he is recognized as one of the greatest boxers of all time!
Professional Boxing Record Summary
Daniel Zaragoza had a long and successful professional boxing career. He fought a total of 66 times. He won 55 of those fights, with 28 wins coming by knockout (meaning he hit his opponent so hard they couldn't continue). He lost 8 fights and had 3 draws (ties).
See also
In Spanish: Daniel Zaragoza para niños
- List of Mexican boxing world champions
- List of world bantamweight boxing champions
- List of world super-bantamweight boxing champions
