5 of the best Mexican boxing showdowns (VIDEO)
The country of Mexico and the sport of boxing have always been synonymous. The art of pugilism is one of the country's most popular sports and arguably provides boxing with its largest fanbase. Starting in the early 1930s, when Jose Perez Flores, aka Battling Shaw, became Mexico's first boxing champion, a plethora of great fighters emerged from the country.
Mexico has produced over 100 world champions throughout its boxing history, including numerous inducted into the International Boxing Hall-of-Fame. Currently, Mexico has nine titleholders, including Julio Cesar Martinez, Emanuel Navarrete, Rey Vargas, Luis Alberto Lopez, Rafael Espinoza, Juan Francisco Estrada, and most recently Isaac Cruz and Gilberto Ramirez.
The most well-known active fighter out of Mexico is the current undisputed super middleweight champion, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. The four-division champion is set to defend his titles against fellow countryman Jaime Munguia this upcoming May 4 on PPV. The fight isn't exactly what boxing fans were clamoring for; however, it should prove at the least to follow in the tradition of being an action-filled fight between two Mexican stars.
"This fight is a great source of pride for me, because it's all about Mexico," Alvarez said in a recent press release. "I'm proud to have my country featured this way in front of the whole world. The fans are going to be the biggest winners on May 4, and we invite everyone to what's going to be a big party for Mexico."
The fighting style that Mexico is best known for can best be described as relentless aggression, based on taking on punishment and giving it right back to your opponent. However, fighters out of Mexico have exhibited a variety of fighting methods.
Julio Cesar Chavez is often thought of as the quintessential Mexican fighter. His high-pressure style and how he assaulted the body of his opposition is the template for most fighters out of the country. Looking back at his fights, you'll also see a fighter who used head and body movement and caught most of his opponent's blows on the gloves.
Besides Chavez, Mexico has also produced some of the most technically sound boxers in history. Fighters such as Gilbert Roman, Ricardo Lopez, and Juan Manuel Marquez could be found in boxing textbooks for properly executing punches.
While fighters out of Mexico shouldn't be typecast, bouts between Mexican fighters usually guarantee a night of excitement. Some of boxing's greatest fights have been between fighters out of Mexico. The passion and commitment exhibited to live up to the expectation to deliver a memorable battle is often a matter of pride to represent Mexico properly.
"It is a great responsibility to represent my country in boxing because there have been great fighters and iconic legends," Alvarez told the Haute Times in 2017. "I think boxing has contributed enormously to Mexico, and it is a great responsibility that I take with strong commitment and train hard as I contribute to awarding big fights to Mexican boxing history."
In preparation for Alvarez's upcoming match with Munguia, Fansided MMA will look back at some of the greatest bouts between Mexican fighters. There have been many outstanding bouts between Mexican and Mexican-American fighters. Fights like Bobby Chacon vs. Rafael Limon IV and Michael Carbajal vs. Humberto Gonzalez stand among the best. But for this list, we'll focus on matchups strictly between native fighters out of Mexico.
The most prevalent omission here is the trilogy of bouts between Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales. Their three fights, especially their first and third bouts, are the gold standard for fights between Mexican champions. To bring attention to a few fights that are often missed and not talked about enough, their trilogy will be omitted from this list. However, every one of these fights is a must-watch for all boxing fans.