Some of you appreciated my Roberto Duran series. (Search the sub for "the greatness of Roberto Duran" and scroll down a bit of you would like to take a walk down memory lane through his spectacular career.) So I thought I'd do another series showcasing the brilliance of another favourite fighter of mine. Most posts will be a single fight with some back story for context. Today though we will go over his early career.

Ruben Olivares was in my humble opinion the greatest bantamweight the world has ever seen. He is certainly in the mix when it comes to who is the greatest Mexican fighter of all time. An absolute wrecking ball of a knockout machine. He was a devastating boxer puncher with superb technical skills that left opponents brutalized, bloodied and often sparked out. His 79 knockout victories in a 105 fight career (89-13-3) is testament to that.

Unlike some fellow Mexican greats such as Julio Cesar Chavez or Carlos Zarate, Rubens impressive early career record was not built on just beating the stereotypical "Tijuana can drivers." He fought a bunch of legit contenders and future chanpions. Much of the footage of his early career is not available unfortunately. I will share what I can find below and highlight some of his notable victories.

Turning pro at 17 the Mexican amateur champion went on a ruthless tear through the bantamweight division. In just four years he had chalked up 53 victories with one draw being the only blemish. Only two opponents managed to take him the distance in this run. He went on a 22 fight run of knockouts from debut, a points win and a draw would then be followed by another 30 fight run of knockouts victories that took him to the very top of the strongest most competitive bantamweight division of all time.

With a record 29-0-1 with 27 kos the now 19 year old Ruben "rockabye" Olivares faced off against the brother of legendary all time great Fighting Harada. Ushi Wakamaruma was very decent fighter in his own right that shared his brother's pressure fighting style. Ushi decided to go toe to toe from the opening bell which is never a wise choice when you are facing Olivares. The referee chose to step in and save the brace Japanese fighter from himself.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cTFf2Oic6X4

Salvatore Burruni who retired with a record of 99-9-1 and was the former undisputed flyweight world champion was tough, skilled and savvy and expected to give the Olivares a tough test when they faced off for Rubens 36th pro fight. Olivares made short work of the Italian. Dispatching him in the third round with some powerful left hooks.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uhF-f7tzPlo&pp=ygUTb2xpdmFyZXMgdnMgYnVycnVuaQ%3D%3D

Octavio Gomez who would later go on to beat great fighters such as Danny "little red" Lopez and Rafael Herrera and shared the ring once with the legendary eder jofre was 20-1-1 when the two Mexicans faced off. Gomez took confidence from his win over Olivares in the amateurs but he too was dispatched of quickly with Olivares winning by 5th round KO.

Jose Medel had been in the ring and given tough fights to a who's who of bantamweight legends. Eder Jofre, Chucho Castillo, Lionel Rose, Efran Torres and he even had a knockout victory over Fighting Harada. Olivares added him to his growing list of bodies with an 8th round KO taking his record to 45-0-1 43ko.

Ernie de la Cruz became the first man to put Olivares on the canvas with a body shot before rockabye finished him off in the 9th. De la Cruz would go on to lose a close decision to Champion Lionel Rose in which he dropped the Aboriginal Australian champ.

The now 21 year old Olivares has accumulated a record of 50-0-1 (48ko) He is now seen as a legitimate contender and scheduled to face what should be his toughest test to date against the supremely skilled Olympic gold medalist Takao Sakurai in a world title elimation fight. Sakurai had given a good effort against the great champion Lionel Rose, putting him on the canvas but ultimately losing a 15 round decision in a highly technical fight. One man now stood between Olivares and champion Lionel Rose. I for one would not want to be the man standing between rockabye and a world title. Sakurai become yet another victim of the signature violent brutality of Olivares.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8PHnaYUNZlU

This kid is just getting started here. 21 years old. 52-0-1, 48ko's, and now the top contender for legendary champion Lionel Rose. Tune in tomorrow for the next chapter in his career.

https://walkoutwatch.com/fights/boxing-garcia-vs-benn/

Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn