Ranking the 12 greatest Mexican boxers of all time
With Canelo Alvarez defending his titles on Saturday in a national rivalry fight vs. Puerto Rican Edgar Berlanga, it was time to publish my list
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One of the key storylines and a major part of the promotional angle for the fight between unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez and challenger Edgar Berlanga is the renewal of the rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico. It is one of the great national rivalries in boxing history.
Alvarez, the Mexican superstar, will make his eighth defense against the Brooklyn, New York-born Puerto Rican Berlanga in the main event of the PBC on Prime PPV on Saturday (Prime Video PPV, PPV.com, DAZN PPV, 8 p.m. ET, $89.99) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The fight will be Alvarez’s first against a Puerto Rican opponent since he outpointed Hall of Famer and four-division champion Miguel Cotto to win the lineal and vacant WBC middleweight title in 2015.
Adding to the hype of the Mexico-Puerto Rico angle of the fight is that Alvarez-Berlanga will take place on Mexican Independence Day weekend, a traditional date for a major Mexican fight and a date Alvarez has targeted for his fights for years, along with the Cinco de Mayo weekend in May, which is when he outpointed Mexican countryman Jaime Munguia.
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Mexico and Puerto Rico have historically been boxing hotbeds and both have produced numerous great fighters.
I have often been asked by readers for how I rank the best Mexican and Puerto Rican fighters. So I have put together my top 12 list of each with why they are on the list.
Let’s start with the Mexican legends, all of whom are enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame except for Alvarez, who is obviously a lock once he retires:
The top 12 Mexican greats
1. Julio Cesar Chavez
Record: 107-6-2, 85 KOs
Career: 1980-2005
Division titles: Junior lightweight, lightweight, junior welterweight
Why he’s here: The beloved Chavez, one of the most crowd-pleasing fighters ever, won world titles in three divisions and fought a who’s who throughout his career, including big wins against Edwin Rosario, Meldrick Taylor (one the most memorable fights of all time), Jose Luis Ramirez, Roger Mayweather, Hector Camacho and Frankie Randall. He was an intense pressure fighter with big-time power and one of the most relentless and dominant fighters of his time. He began his career 89-0-1 before taking an upset split decision loss in the first of three fights against Randall, which he avenged twice.