[3] His father couldn't work because of poor health and his mother would make the entire household living from knitting.
[1] He left school at 5th grade and began working as a newspaper salesman.
[1] He began his boxing career in 1944 at the Boğaziçi Turnuvası (Bosporus Tournament).
He then worked as a boxing trainer including European champion, Cemal Kamaci.
Zakaryan died on 25 January 2020 at the age of 89 in Istanbul, Turkey.