Over the years there have been many great Mexican fighters, too many to name on a blog. But with the Saturday fight between Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao on the horizon. I thought I'd put my top five Mexican-born fighters on the blog. Believe it was very tough and I know others probably have a different list. If you have a list, feel free to add a comment with the five. Here are is my list.
1. Julio Cesar Chavez
No surprise here. Chavez won six world titles and beat the likes of Rocky Lockridge, Meldrick Taylor (twice), Juan LaPorte, Tony Lopez, Roger Mayweather, Jose Luis Ramirez and Edwin Rosario. Chavez was a beautiful fighter on the inside and his boxing skills were often underrated because of his aggression and knockout capability. Chavez was a hero in his native Mexico and revered among Mexican-Americans.
2. Ricardo Lopez
The king of the strawweight and light flyweight divisions. He won 51 of 52 fights and beat notables like Saman Sorjaturong, Kyun Yun Li, Kermin Guardia, Andy Tabanas, Ala Villamor, Alex Sanchez, Rosendo Alvarez, Will Grigsby. A wonderful fighter and he got out at the right time and didn't tarnish his record.
3. Salvador Sanchez
Sadly this great champ was just 23 when he died in a car crash. A good fighter not afraid to mix it up. Became a household name after victories against the popular Danny Lopez and Puerto Rico's Wilfredo Gomez. Also beat a young Azumah Nelson in a wonderful and brutal war in New York.
4. Carlos Zarate
A great power puncher, who has the distinction of being the only fighter in the history of the sport to have two streaks of 20 or more knockout wins in a row. Won 63 of his 66 fights via knockout.
5. Marco Antonio Barrera
Barrera has been one of the great champions of our time. Has won 63 and lost just five times. Has won world titles at 122, 126 and 130 pounds. Says the fight with Pacquiao on Saturday is his last major fight. Very determined fighter, good skills and has a knack for rebounding from loss with a win. He lost his last fight against Juan Manuel Marquez. Has beaten Erik Morales, Paulie Ayala and Kennedy McKinney among other. A win on Saturday would give him one of his greatest victories of all time.
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2 comments:
This is a nice list of fighters of Mexican descent, I have to agree with your choices, but as you said, it is unfortunate that we did not get to see Salvador Sanchez flourish. He was indeed destined for greatness....
1. Julio Cesar Chávez
2. Marco Antonio Barrera
3. Erik Morales
4. Salvador Sanchez
That's a list of fighters that I would have paid to go see. Pbviously only Barrera is still fighting, and he says this is his last major fight. I never got a chance to see Sanchez fight. I was still a young kid when he died, but I've recently seen footage of his fights and he was devastating. Taken in his prime, who knows how good he could have been.
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