The sport of boxing has long had a tradition of great Mexican boxers inhabiting the space. From the legend of Salvador Sanchez to Julio Cesar Chavez run that sparked a generation of fight fans. Then who could forget the rivalries between Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, or the right hand heard from around the world when Juan Manuel Marquez knocked out Manny Pacquiao.
Mexico has had some of the most loyal fans of any nation that watches boxing, and beyond just that, has a distinctive style that draws the fans in as what is often referred to as a “Mexican-style” of boxing is a come-forward pressure style with calculated attack.
The Top Five Must-Watch Mexican Boxers: A Compelling Lineup of Active Fighters
Canelo
One of the best Mexican fighters ever, not just of this era. A four-weight world champion, who is the current undisputed four-belt super middleweight champion is a modern legend of the sport. Since the retirement of Floyd Mayweather and the inactivity of an aging Manny Pacquiao, Canelo Alvarez has taken the bull by the horns and brought boxing into the modern era. Now in his eighteenth years as a professional boxer, as he turned professional in 2005 - it appears we might be starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel for Canelo’s career.
Canelo fights next weekend, May 6th, against John Ryder, in Mexico.
Juan Francisco Estrada
The underrated legend of his generation winning world titles at flyweight and super flyweight, Juan Francisco Estrada seems to be the spiritual next generation of Juan Manuel Marquez. A boxer who can make the fight nasty as well. Estrada holds wins over all the modern legends of his era, but none more celebrated than holding two wins over Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, the fighter largely credited with the rebirth of people watching the flyweight division given his exciting fighting style.
Other notable wins include avenging a loss to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, and beating Carlos Cuadras twice. Estrada in terms of resume is the greatest flyweight of the modern era.
Oscar Valdez
Two-division world champion, holding belts at both featherweight and super featherweight. Oscar Valdez also was a two-time Mexican Olympian, who his biggest curse is the fan’s blessing. Valdez, who is more than capable of outboxing opponents at times, wants to entertain the fans and will make fights harder for himself. This was best seen when his jaw was broken against Scott Quigg in a fight that Valdez chose to be a destructive force of nature as opposed to pick his shots more carefully. Valdez might not getting his flowers during his career, but once it is over - I think a lot of people will reflect on how underrated and crowd-pleasing Valdez was in his prime.
Valdez next fights Adam “Blunose” Lopez on May 20th, as the co-main event of the Devin Haney vs. Vasyl Lomachenko pay-per-view fight.
Emanuel Navarrete
It is very rare that you see a three division world champion, yet Emanuel Navarrete can lay claim to that space. Starting at super bantamweight, Navarrete burst on the scene by defeating what looked to be a star-in-wait in WBO world champion Isaac Dogboe. Navarrete would double-down on that performance by stopping Dogboe in the rematch.
Navararrete would defeat one of the best amateurs the USA Boxing system has produced in some time for the WBO featherweight belt, and recently defeated Liam Wilson for the WBO super featherweight title. Navarrete though has had one flaw, as he has moved up in weight his body hasn’t filled out like a professional as his move through the weight classes appears to be more so out of a lifestyle choice than optimum performance.
If all goes well, Oscar Valdez and Navarrete should fight each other in the fall of this year.
Jaime Munguia
The Jaime Munguia era has been a bit frustrating. Munguia came onto the scene with a ton of hype. Munguia tried to fight Gennadiy Golovkin when Canelo Alvarez was pulled from his fight with Golovkin due to a drug-test failure. Internet meme accounts promoted Munguia, who was declined by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Not long after Munguia knocked out an undersized Sadam Ali, who was a career welterweight who became a world champion at junior middleweight after defeating Miguel Cotto.
Munguia in his first title defense would defeat Liam Smith who is having a great 2023, but since a tough fight in which Munguia won a majority-decision over Dennis Hogan - Munguia has never faced that same level of competition. Since October of 2020, Munguia has fought at middleweight, but has yet to compete for a world title or in an eliminator for a world title.