Zapata began his professional
boxing career in 1977, beating Victor Lopez by a
knockout in the second round. He had 2 wins in '77. He had a fast ascent to the top, starting in 1978. By his fifth bout, on July 1, he was meeting former WBA light flyweight champion
Juan Guzmán in
Panama City, beating Guzman by a decision in ten. His next fight, against Yong-Hwang Kim, in
South Korea, was his first fight abroad; Beating Kim by a 10-round decision on August 19. Then, he met former WBA flyweight champion
Alfonso Lopez, for the vacant Latin American light flyweight belt. Zapata suffered his first loss in the fight against Lopez, when he was beaten in a 12 round decision. He started 1979 with a fight against Ramon Perez in Puerto Rico, winning by a knockout in nine. He had three more wins in 1979, including one over two division champion
Freddie Castillo, and by the end of that year he was ranked number one in the world among light flyweight challengers by the
WBC. Zapata went to Japan, winning against
Shigeo Nakajima to become the WBC light flyweight champion, having defended his title 8 times. In 1981, he and future light flyweight champion
Joey Olivo fought what was the only light flyweight title bout ever broadcast on American national
TV live until
Michael Carbajal came along nine years later. Zapata beat Olivo by a knockout in round 13 to retain his belt, and then, defended against Rudy Crawford in a 15-round decision. He also defended his titles against
German Torres and former light flyweight champion
Netrnoi Sor Vorasingh. On February 6, 1982, he lost the world title by knockout against
Amado Panterita Ursua. On July 20, Zapata regained the WBC light flyweight title by beating Tomori on a 15-round decision. Then, he beat future world champion
Jung-Koo Chang by a decision in 15. He closed out the year with a rematch against Tomori in Tokyo, knocking Tomori out in 8 rounds. On March 26, 1983, Zapata and Chang met again in South Korea, and this time, Chang became world champion by knocking Zapata out in the third round. On November 9, on the
Marvin Hagler vs. Roberto Durán's undercard's week, Zapata was beaten by a knockout in 10 by Harold Petty. His career seemingly over, he quickly recovered from those back to back losses and began winning again, but this time as a flyweight. By the end of 1984, he was ranked number one by the
WBA among flyweights, and on December 8 of that year, he challenged world Flyweight champion
Santos Laciar. Zapata lost a 15-round decision. In 1986, after Laciar had vacated the crown, he beat Alonzo Gonzalez to win the WBA flyweight title. He defended his title 5 times, before losing it to
Fidel Bassa. In 1993, he challenged for a world title once again, but was knocked out in the first round by the WBC super flyweight champion
Sung-Kil Moon. It can also be added that Zapata's first pair of boxing gloves, when he was 12, came as a present from Duran himself. He was inducted to the
International Boxing Hall Of Fame in June 2016. Zapata had a record of 43 wins and 10 losses, with 1 draw, and 14 wins by knockout. ==Professional boxing record==