BOXING'S HALL OF FAN FAVORITES

   Wilibaldo Salazar opened his professional career on Dec. 14, 1979 in his home town of Jalisco, Guadalajara Mexico with a 4 round decision loss to fellow Jalisco pro debuter Librado Moran.  He won his 2nd pro fight and then won his 3rd pro fight via knockout before being stopped his self in fight number 4.  His record stood at a non-de script 2-2 and he was not seen as anything "special" by local boxing fans.    He was improving though, and ran off a 7-fight win streak including 5 wins by knockout. He then labored with an up-and-down career that saw 3 straight losses, leading to a streak of fights in which he went 6-9-1 against mostly local talent. His record stood at a respectable 20-12-1 when he got his first shot at a title belt.  It was for the Mexico National Flyweight title, and he went the 12-round distance to earn that title with a decision win over fellow Jalisco resident - Adolfo Anguiano.  That belt probably felt pretty good arou...

Rosemead, California's Rudy Zavala made his professional debut in march of 1990, opening with a unanimous decision win over Rafael Martinez.  Just 3 weeks later, they fought a rematch at the Forum in Inglewood, CA and this time Zavala stopped Martinez in round 3. Just like that, the 21 year old was off to a 2-0 start, and he became a local favorite of The Forum as he ran his record to 11-0, 9 by KO before taking a big step-up fight against former WBC International Title challenger Virgilio Openo (18-2-4) of The Phillipines.  That bout was scheduled for 12 rounds, but it only took Zavala 6 to stop his first world class opponent. On that night, Rudy went from Prospect to Contender. 3 more fights against good solid mid-level opponents netted 3 more KO wins, and now with an impressive record of 15-0, 13 by KO, Zavala traveled to Phoenix, Arizona for a big 8-Round fight against ranked contender Johnny "The Torch" Vasquez (17-2) in Vasquez's home town. ...

   Mobile Alabama Police Officer Ed Donaldson turned professional in May of 1992 with an impressive 1st round knockout over fellow Alabama boxer Ben Green.    Donaldson was then stepped up to a tougher opponent in Michigan's Warren Williams who came in with an impressive record of 6-1, with 4 wins by knockout.  It was a tough battle, but Donaldson got the split decision win over 4 rounds to move to 2-0, and gain a little attention from boxing insiders.       The "Fighting Policeman" from Mobile, Alabama was then put in against a highly regarded boxer named James Gaines (1-0).  Although Gaines appeared overweight and not to be in great shape, he was in fact a very highly skilled boxer who would go on to fight some big names, score some upsets, and fight for a minor title belt.  Gaines came through and handed Donaldson his first loss in this battle of young fringe prospects.  It was a split decision loss for Donaldson t...

   Venezuela's Idelmar Jose Paisan opened his pro boxing career on March 5, 1979 with a decision victory over undefeated (4-0) Luis Godoy.    He was moved along quickly and was put into a 6-rounder in his 3rd fight, an 8-rounder in his 4th fight, and by his 5th pro fight he was fighting in a scheduled 10-round fight!    Paisan was staying busy on the venezuelan pro boxing circuit, and by Sept. of 1982 he held a record of 15-3, 13 wins by knockout, and was coming off of a 10-fight knockout win streak when he was put in against popular fellow Venezuelan Felix Mendez (17-3-4) in a 10-round showdown.  Paisan won by decision victory, and was becoming the talk of the Venezuelan boxing world.    His winning streak continued and on Nov. 7, 1993 he got a shot at the Venezuelan national Lightweight title belt against defending champ Ramon Cotua (20-1, 17 KO). The battle of sluggers was expected to end in a knockout by either man, but instead, ...

Nickname: "Binwa" Sande battles Colorado's undefeated Earl "The New Generation" Jackson    After winning the bronze medal at the 1988 olympic games Kenya native Chris Sande moved to the United States and began hir professional boxing career.    October 10, 1989 was the night of his first pro fight which he won via 4 round unanimous decision over John Tunstall at Bally's in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sande battles James Patterson.    After 3 more wins, Sande at 4-0 was pitted against another unbeaten prospect in 5-0 Willie Kemp of New York.  It was a good fight that ended in a split decision win for Sande, that win moved his record to 5-0.    Two more nice wins for Sande (7-0) found him in another face-off with a fellow undefeated prospect. This time it was South Carolina's Lamar "Kidfire" Parks who was 9-0 with 8 by knockout. It was a very interesting battle, but the pure power of Parks was too much and Sande tasted his first profession...

Nickname: TIGER   Albuquerque's Richard "Tiger" Fowler started his pro boxing career with back-to-back losses, being stopped in 2 rounds by a very skilled Jerry Martinez, and then losing a 4 round decision to Randy McNurlin.    Fowler didn't give up on his dreams and put together a 3 fight win streak on local undercards in Albuquerque.  At 3-2 he was put in against an undefeated hot prospect out of San Diego, California named "Sweet" Irving Mitchell who was 12-0 with 11 KOs.  Fowler lost a unanimous decision, but he proved his toughness going the full 8 rounds against an undefeated fighter who would go on to challenge for the USBA and WBA titles.    Richard's showing against Irving Mitchell earned him a reputation as a tough guy who could test a prospect, and he was then put in against another undefeated prospect - Fort Worth TX's Steve Cruz - who was 6-0 winning all 6 by knockout. Fowler was stopped in 2 rounds by the young...