Zamora ain't too dissimilar than Cuevas. Both murderous punchers who reigned for a bit, and would have reigned for longer had they not run into two all time greats with all time great power. Just like Cuevas was never the same after Hearns murked him, Zamora was never the same after Zarate murked him. Don't get me wrong, I would say that Cuevas was better than Zamora. Zamora did win a HIGHLY entertaining war with Alberto Sandoval after the Zarate fight. Then he got totally outclassed and taken apart by Jorge Lujan (an underrated technician).
I do as well, but saying that both were similar in that they were never really the same after getting destroyed by Hearns/Zarate.
Zamora sure did flatten Pedroza. I know, I know, Pedroza was very green, but still.. one of the best right hand KOs of all time.
I think Romero was a better boxer and technician than Zamora, but he never had a dominant run or signature win(s) that would give cause to favor him over Zamora. Aside from that, I don't think Romero ever fully mentally recovered from the Salazar fight.
Romero went out to win to the title at 115 following the Salazar fight, so not sure i agree with that. He destroyed the solid Harold Grey in 2 to take that title.
I didn't mean to suggest that he wasn't good again after the Salazar fight, just that I think it continued to affect some of his performances thereafter. I felt part of the reason he ultimately lost to Tapia was because he tried too hard to keep the fight at long range and seemed leery of mixing it up at close quarters. In general, he seemed to become more of a head hunter and less willing to focus downstairs, possibly because he was concerned about being countered to the eye.
romero was over hyped and ordinary. never saw the hype with him. his punching power wasnt as touted, either.
He was never going to live up to 100% of whatever potential he may have had once he got that eye injury. Even if he avoided getting it reinjured, his style was compromised by his effort to protect it from further injury.
Zamora wasn't just a guy who could hit hard. He was a smooth operator too and had tons of heart. I'd expect him to beat Romero without too much trouble.
Stylewise Zamora tried to fight a lot like Olivares, only he wasn't as skilled or as gifted as Olivares. But an argument can be made had more raw power than Olivares.
