Zack Padilla

[taansend]

How was this for a comeback?

He was 7-0-1 & 23 year old Lightweight. Gets knocked out by a no name & vanishes for 5 years. If I remember he worked as on construction & ballooned up to 200+ pounds.

In 1991 he returns & scores another 15 wins to become the WBO Light Welter Champ with some wins over very good opponents.

If I remember his bout with Ray Oliveira set some records for punch output.

[ShoulderRoll]

He was a fun fighter to watch. Non-stop puncher, his blows weren't super hard but he kept pouring them on.

Maybe a little Calzaghe-esque.

[TBear]

Zack was super exciting! Great to watch. Too bad his style caught with him though as he suffered some brain injuries and had to retire(if memory serves me right).

Padilla had a few thrillers, not only that bout with Oliveira but also his war with Gonzalez!

[Salardo]

Shane Mosley said Padilla is the hardest man he ever fought with the best chin. (He was Mosley's sparring partner)
Unfortunately Padilla got injured badly in one of those sparring sessions and had to retire.
He was a swarmer throwing billions of punches like Paul Williams/Ray Mancini/Aaron Pryor.

[greynotsoold]

While in training, and sparring with Mosley, Padilla began having chronic headaches. He had it checked out and neurological damage was discovered so he retired. Around that same time, another fighter out of that same Azusa gym, Johnny Chavez, lost his vision. He was 17-1 (18-1?) and had just won a decision at the Forum; on the way home he suddenly went blind.

[taansend]

Thanks for all the extra info, chaps.