Your thoughts/opinions are greatly appreciated.

[CutMeMick]

Mick you will know the answer to this better than anyone i think, how on earth did Rafael Herrera get two wins against a prime Ruben Olivares? Herrera must be underrated because if he beat Olivares twice then he must have been pretty good?

Herreras a legend here in L.A. ThirdMan....
How he beat Olivares is beyong anyone, it's just one of things. I mean many stories flow in the air but the credibility of them is not good.
I've heared/read from Olivares taking a dive, to Olivares was hitting the bottle.

I think the turning point for Herrera was when he lost by TKO to Chucho in 3. I say this because I've read that in those 3 rounds he showed loads of heart and determination. After that TKO loss, he went on a wining streak getting himself a shot at the NABF title when he beat the undefeated Martinez this springed a trilogy where Herrera took 2 of the 3. He also avenged his loss to Chucho. And then he TKO's Olivares in 8, Olivares fought well throught the whole fight but Herrera just had something up his sleeve on that night. The rematch was really close I know the newspapers here had it scored for Olivares. Herrera fought well early on but Olivares closed out the show by wining the late rounds....
Herreras reign was short but sweet, by any means not an all time great but he had the skill to pull off a few big wins.

Thanks for the info, i have always been a big Olivares fan and couldn't understand how he lost to Herrera.
I also think Jesus Pimental was underated at the time considering the tough competition back then. He had a great fight with Olivares.

Your welcome THIRD.... 'El Puas' is an all time great. He might not have been technically sound but he had loads of heart and could punch! oh my god could he punch... Jesus Pimentel I really haven't seen much of except in his fight vs. Olivares.
I think that all thos fighters who fought in the Olympic Auditorium circuit are vastly un appreciated fighters like Armando Muniz, Carlos Palomino, Lupe Pintor, Panama Al Brown, Bobby Chacon, Jimmy Carter to name a few.

guys like sixto escobar definitely desreve more exposure

I said this in another thread, I think what hurts the fighters here is the lack of video for the younger guys to see. I mean how many people really like to read? I know a few do but for the most part everyone want's footage and I think that's why the newer generations lack knowledge on fighters of the past.

When ever people talk about great puertorrican fighters you will most often here three names. Wilfredo Gomez, Wilfredo Benitez and now Felix Trinidad. Carlos Ortiz is rarelly mentioned and he is sertanly deserving of being mentioned among the other greats. He is defenately a top 5 Lightweight of all time.

Argueably #1 above Duran in the all time Lightweight.... I mean what a fighter he was and to have had the opp. to meet him was incredible.
Heres my top 5 all time PR fighters:

1. Carlos Ortiz
2. Wilfredo Gomez
3. Felix Trinidad
4. Wilfred Benitez