Who is the Best Mexican Boxer Today?
Boxing has a proud heritage in Mexico going back to the early 1900s. Fighting under the name “Battling Shaw,” Jose Luis Florez became the first Mexican world champion when he outpointed Johnny Jadick in 1933 for the junior welterweight championship. Mexican boxers came to the forefront of the sport in the 1970s as fighters like Carlos Palomino and Jose Pipino Cuevas held world titles. Fighters like Julio Cesar Chavez and Jose Luis Ramirez would continue this trend in the 1980s and 1990s.
Some people have claimed that the Golden Age of Mexican boxing was in the 1990s and early 2000s when champions like Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Yori Boy Campas would headline major cards in Mexico and the United States. However, there are still many top boxers from Mexico holding championship belts and filling arenas around the world. While boxing has waned in popularity in America and other parts of the world it is still extremely popular in Mexico, where major fighters are among the top sports celebrities.
So who is the top active Mexican boxer in the sport? There are several potential candidates to choose from. Here are some of the Mexican fighters who currently stand at the top of the sport:
Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs): The 36-year-old Marquez has been involved in some of the most exciting fights in recent memory including a pair of tough battles with Manny Pacquiao and victories over Barrera, Derrick Gainer and Joel Casamayor. For his most recent fight he moved up two weight classes from lightweight to welterweight in losing a lopsided unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather.
Fernando Montiel (41-2-2, 31 KOs): At 31, Montiel has already won world championships at flyweight, super flyweight and bantamweight and has earned a place as one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world. He was scheduled for a showdown with Eric Morel on July 17 but Rafael Concepcion stepped in as a replacement after Morel withdrew due to injury.
Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs): Despite winning titles at both welterweight and junior middleweight, Margarito’s legacy might have been permanently tarnished when he was banned for one year after he was found to have used illegal hand wraps in his loss to Shane Mosley in January 2009. Margarito started his comeback from the suspension with a unanimous decision over Roberto Garcia in Mexico on May 8. However, his comeback suffered a setback when his application for reinstatement was tabled by the Nevada Athletic Commission in early July.
Humberto Soto (52-7-2, 32 KOs): Mexico has produced many fighters with unusual and unorthodox boxing styles, and Soto is the latest fighter to continue this legacy. His trainer Emanuel Steward has called him a “Gumby man” for his seeming elasticity and ability to avoid punches in the ring. It’s served him well as he is currently the WBC lightweight champion after outpointing David Diaz for the vacant title in March.
Alfredo Angulo (18-1, 15 KOs): The 27-year-old Angulo has rebounded from a May 2009 loss to Kermit Cintron in a WBC junior middleweight title eliminator to claim a piece of the world title. He won the interim WBO junior middleweight title in September 2009 when he knocked out Harry Joe Yorgey in the third round and most recently defended it with an 11th round stoppage of Joel Julio in April.
Rafael Marquez (39-5, 35 KOs): At 35, Marquez is the living embodiment of the Mexican boxing “warrior.” In May he stopped Israel Vazquez in the third round to even the score in their fourth (and final) bout in what was one of the most violent and brutal series of bouts in recent boxing history. He’ll get one more title shot in September when he challenges Juan Manuel Lopez for the WBO featherweight title.
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