Banke, Zaragoza to Fight Tonight at the Forum

A long-awaited boxer-slugger matchup shapes up at the Forum tonight when Paul Banke of Quail Valley challenges Mexico’s Daniel Zaragoza.

At stake is Zaragoza’s World Boxing Council super-bantamweight championship.

Banke, 25, one-time amateur standout from Azusa, is 16-3 and has eight knockouts. Zaragoza, 31, of Mexico City, is 36-4-1 with 18 knockouts.

The bout was originally scheduled for last March, but Zaragoza suffered an eardrum injury during training. Another date was set, but the fight was postponed again when the ear injury was slow to heal.

Banke, who fights for Bob Richardson’s All-Heart Boxing Club in Quail Valley, lost three of his first 13 fights until he caught fire in 1988 and won the Forum’s super-bantam tournament, earning $100,000.

A flatfooted, free-swinging puncher, Banke has become a Forum boxing favorite. He’s a hot fighter, having knocked out three of his last four opponents. He had two KOs in the Forum tournament, one in the 11th round over Carlos Romero in the championship bout.

In his last Forum appearance, Jan. 9, in a rousing match, Banke knocked out Ramiro Adames insix.

Zaragoza won the WBC’s super-bantam championship in 1985 and lost it in his first defense. He regained the title in 1988 by stopping Carlos Zarate in 12 at the Forum last Feb. 29. He has since successfully defended twice, against Seung Lee Hoon of South Korea and Italian Valerio Nati.

On the undercard, the Forum super-featherweight tournament continues with two semifinal bouts, Robert Byrd vs. Javier Pichardo, and Jose Vidal vs. Raul Franco.