Jerry Quarry (darker trunks) versus former titlist Floyd Patterson, on October 28, 1967, in WBA Heavyweight Title Elimination Tournament action in Los Angeles. Quarry, who came in 24-1-4, would win a 12-round majority decision over Patterson, who fell to 46-6-1. Boxing trivia: Quarry is the only fighter that Patterson lost to that did not hold a world title during his career (Maxim, Liston, Johannson, Ali, Ellis were the others).

The legendary "Kid Pambele", Antonio Cervantes, wins the WBA Junior Welterweight Title on October 28, 1972 with a 10th round KO of Alfonso Frazer in Panama City. Frazer, trained by another legendary boxing figure, Ray Arcel, had represented Panama at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, as a Featherweight losing a decision in his first bout. Frazer had dethroned yet another legend, Nicolino Locche, in March of 1972. ----------------------------------------------------------On January 31, 1964, Antonio Cervantes Reyes entered the boxing ring as a professional for the first time, beating Juan Martinez by decision in 6-rounds. His first 32 bouts as a professional were in Colombia, and he won 27, lost 4 and drew in one of them. Realizing his pupil needed publicity outside Colombia, trainer Carmelo Prada then moved with Cervantes to Venezuela, where, on November 25th of 1968, he knocked out Orlando Ruiz in the first round for his first fight abroad. He followed that win with a ten rounds decision over Nestor Rojas only three days later. On December 23rd of that year, he suffered his first knockout defeat when Cruz Marcano, a fringe contender of the time, beat him in 4-rounds in Caracas. He won five and lost two in 1969, splitting his fights between Colombia and Venezuela, and losing a ten-round decision to Antonio Gomez, a former world champion. He won two more in 1970, then he and Prada moved, this time to Los Angeles. In California, he began by beating Jose Rodriguez by a KO in the first round in San Jose, and on December 17, he beat Rodolfo "Gato" Gonzalez by KO in 8-rounds. After this and a 1971 win over Argentine Enrique Jana, Cervantes was ranked as a light welterweight by the WBA. On December 11th of that year, he had his first world title shot, against the great Nicolino Locche, in Buenos Aires. Cervantes would lose a 15-round decision. After winning three fights in 1972, Cervantes, who had by then returned to Colombia, had another world title try: Alfonso Frazer, who had dethroned Locche of the world title, gave Cervantes a chance on October 28th in Panama City. Cervantes knocked Frazer out in ten rounds and became the world light welterweight champion for the first time. Cervantes immediately became a national hero in Colombia, and many enterprises made him their spokesman in the coffee producing country, most notably Sanyo, whose name the popular champion advertised on his clothing and fight trunks. Cervantes made nine title defenses in his first reign, including a 10th round TKO of Locche in their rematch after his corner stopped the fight due to a cut over his left eye, a KO in five of Frazer, also in a rematch, a 15-round split decision win over Josue Marquez in Puerto Rico (in the first world title bout ever held at Roberto Clemente Coliseum) and a 15-round decision over future Lightweight champion Esteban De Jesus. But on March 6th of 1976, in San Juan, he lost a 15-round decision and his world title to 17-year-old Puerto Rican Wilfred Benitez, who with that became boxing's youngest champion ever. Cervantes won five more fights in a row, including a win over Saoul Mamby, before fighting for the world title again. After Benitez had left the light welterweight belt vacant, Cervantes regained it on June 25th of 1977, with a 5-round KO of Carlos Maria Gimenez, again in Venezuela. His second reign as world champion took him to such places as Thailand, Botswana and South Korea, among others. He retained the title six times, beating the likes of Adrian Marrero and Miguel Montilla (twice). By this time, there was much talk about a superfight with world Lightweight champion Roberto Duran, who was coming up in weight. Duran decided to challenge Sugar Ray Leonard instead, however, and Cervantes-Duran never materialized. Cervantes would drop Pryor in the 1st round of their title fight but the incredibly resilient "Hawk" would rebound to take the title via 4th round KO. Cervantes, who'd hung up the gloves after this loss, would come out of retirement due to financial problems and went on boxing until 1983, winning four fights and dropping his last one, a ten-round decision loss to Danny Sanchez on December 9th of 1983, in Miami. His final record would stand at 67-12-1 (37 KO's).

Wilfredo Gomez, in the 6th defense of his WBA Super Bantamweight Championship, scores perhaps the most impressive win of his fine career, TKOing the legendary Carlos Zarate in the 5th round in San Juan, Puerto Rico on October 28, 1978. Boxing writer Christian Guidice would write of this fight (in 2014): It was one of those fights where the rabid Mexican and Puerto Rican fans expected all hell to break loose. Fixated on the middle of the ring, fans in the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico appeared ready to explode. A wave of excitement spread through the venue; that same passion would only intensify as the fight took hold. Many boxing experts would look back to this bout as the precursor to the popular Mexican-Puerto Rican boxing rivalry. The enmity was fueled by WBC super bantamweight champion Wilfredo Gomez, who had earned a reputation for dousing the fire of Mexican challengers, the most recent a seventh-round stoppage of Mexico’s Juan Antonio Lopez in April 1978. Now, nearly five months later, Gomez was making his sixth title defense and successfully chartering a path to greatness. An opponent inextricably linked with Mexican’s past boxing giants, Carlos Zarate entered with a record of 52 victories, no losses, with 51 knockouts. To add to the fervor surrounding the bout, Gomez and Zarate had a combined record of 73-0-1, with an astonishing 72 KOs. Similarly, when Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard met in 1980, they combined for a record of 98-1, but lacked the same impressive knockout ratio. Physically, Zarate stood two inches taller than Gomez, but lacked the same fluid movement and speed. Zarate relied on power in both hands, and would be in hot pursuit of the knockout punch; comparatively, Gomez had confidence that his pressure and ability to adapt to any challenge would be the key. For Gomez, there was no hurry: the knockout would eventually come. Neither fighter made the 122-pound limit on the first attempt as both weighed over 124 pounds. In fact, Zarate needed four trips to the scale to make 122. When the bell rang on October 28, 1978, neither fighter looked to set a blistering pace. Zarate and Gomez took turns as the aggressor. Instead of coming forward, Gomez appeared comfortable in the counterpuncher role. As Zarate stalked, Gomez flitted in and out of punching range. Eventually, Gomez’s confidence grew when he landed the first significant punch of the fight. It occurred when Gomez countered Zarate with a straight right and then eased him into a lunging left hook. Both fighters spent a good portion of the first round devising a clear strategy to get inside. Patiently, each fighter embraced this more passive approach over the first three rounds. Although Gomez was more effective landing an overhand right, Zarate opted for a left uppercut thrown from below his waist. Toward the end of the third round, Gomez beautifully set Zarate up with a lazy left, and then immediately closed the gap with a jolting right hand that landed directly above Zarate’s guard. Amid a torrent of fans itching for the typical Gomez attack, the champion had still not yet unleashed his blend of speed and power. Early in the fourth, Gomez was content to fight going backwards and let Zarate come to him. Mixing in a check left hook and an occasional jab, Gomez disrupted Zarate’s gameplan. Susceptible to left hooks and an occasional straight right, Gomez hadn’t completely deciphered the Mexican legend’s style. Still, Gomez recovered to land a lead hook that sent Zarate to the canvas toward the end of the round. Zarate took a standing eight-count and immediately began to take more punishment. Gomez followed him to the other ring post and cautiously looked for an opening; seconds later he found one, a clean right hand that staggered Zarate. Not finished, Gomez followed him to the middle of the ring where he sent him down for the second time with a glancing right hand after the bell. The referee, Harry Gibbs, stepped in to start the count, but Zarate had risen and Gomez ran over to him to land one more left hook. Gomez’s intensity reached its peak as he refused to sit in his corner, anxiously awaiting the chance to end the fight. Continuing the onslaught in the fifth and final round, Gomez landed three hooks, the last one a glancing blow off of Zarate’s head. Then, Gomez moved Zarate to the ropes – with a right hand to his ear – where he landed the same uncontested vicious left hook that sent him down a round earlier. Seconds later, Gomez sent Zarate through the ropes as Gibbs made a half-hearted attempt to step in. “When Wilfredo fought Zarate, Zarate was not at his best,” said Paul Ruiz, who managed Alfredo Escalera at the time. “Gomez did get ready. He had to be at his best. But I didn’t expect that type of performance. “I did expect a better fight from Zarate. Everybody was going crazy in Puerto Rico. Gomez had just beaten the best Mexican since Ruben Olivares. Zarate could punch like a mule, but he didn’t show anything that night.” The fight was stopped at :44 of the fifth when Gomez knocked Zarate down again and then viciously stepped in to land a straight right as Zarate crawled on his knees. Zarate’s corner threw in the towel even before Gibbs began the count. In the end, Zarate, a courageous warrior, wilted under the extreme pressure that Gomez applied. As soon as the towel was thrown, the celebration began! ----------------------------------------------------------This was the first loss of the great Zarate's career, he'd fall to 52-1, and he would return to bantamweight making two more defenses (losing it controversially to Lupe Pintor in the second one) in 1979 and retire at 54-2. Gomez remained undefeated to this point (22-0-1). By the time he was done with the Junior Featherweights, Gómez had established a division record of 17 defenses, and a world record of most defenses in a row won by knockout, all of his title defenses finishing before the established distance limit. But....this being boxing, Carlos Zarate would return in 1986, winning twelve stright fights before losing back-to-back fights to Jeff Fenech (Technical Dec 4) and Daniel Zaragoza (TKO by 10 for the vacant title) in attempts at the WBC Super Bantamweight title.

Marvelous Marvin Hagler during a training session, on October 28, 1982, as he prepares to make the 5th defense of his undisputed World Middleweight Championship on the 30th, against Fulgencio Obelmejias, in San Remo, Italy.