Not too long ago, many boxing fans were questioning the future of Mexican boxing. With Juan Manuel Marquez getting closer to 40 each day, it was hard to blame them. After Marquez, there didn’t appear to be any potential superstars on the rise and for awhile it seemed like Mexican fighters weren’t doing themselves any favors by constantly dropping like flies.
However, as quickly as those questions arose, the Mexican boxing scene had yet another rebirth.
Hernan Marquez traveled to Panama and came back with a world title. Giovani Segura defeated Ivan Calderon for the second time. Jhonny Gonzalez traveled to Japan and knocked out Hozumi Hasegawa for a featherweight title. Brandon Rios won a lightweight title with a thrilling victory over Miguel Acosta. Marco Antonio Rubio traveled to Canada and took David Lemieux’s unblemished record. Victor Ortiz shocked the boxing world by defeating highly touted Andre Berto. And perhaps the most shocking of them all, Orlando Salido traveled to Puerto Rico and upset Puerto Rico’s pride, Juan Manuel Lopez, a fighter whom many were already hailing as a future top p4per.
I think it’s now safe to say Mexican boxing will be fine, as always.
It has been about a year or two since I published an update to this list. I now plan to update it regularly through this blog at least 3-4 times per year.
Just a little background for those of you who have not previously followed my published Top 20 Current Mexican Fighter lists, I have chosen to combine Mexican and Mexican-American fighters since Mexican-American fighters do not have a large enough pool to warrant their own list. In addition, many Mexican-Americans consider themselves “Mexican” due to their cultural upbringing.
Note: The criteria for these rankings is based on quality of opposition, accomplishments, potential, and a personal “gut” feeling of how each fighter compares to one another. Other items that could help a fighter’s ranking: Undefeated record, quality wins, longevity, titles in multiple divisions, success in original 8 divisions.
1. Juan Manuel Marquez, 37, (Mexican) 52-5-1, 38 KOs, WBO/WBA/Ring Lightweight Champion – Three-division champion. Marquez is the last man to test Pacquiao in a fight many felt he deserved to win. He now sits patiently deciding whether he should renew with Golden Boy Promotions and settle for fights against Judah and Guerrero or sign with Top Rank in hopes of landing a third bout with Pacquiao. However, the latter may come with a price considering that Marquez would very likely be forced to move up to the welterweight division. Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion & #5 p4per.
2. Giovani Segura, 29, (Mexican) 27-1-1, 23 KOs, WBO Light Flyweight Champion – Holds two quality wins over Ivan Calderon who was already a bit past it by the time Segura got to him. Rumored to be back in action May 28 against TBA. Ring Magazine Junior Flyweight Champion and #9 p4per.
3. Abner Mares, 25, (Mexican) 21-0-1, 13 KOs – Win over Darchinyan. Draw against Perez in a bout many felt he deserved to win. Hasn’t accomplished a lot but he has the look of a future star. Ring Magazine #4 ranked bantamweight.
4. Victor Ortiz, 24, (Mexican-American) 28-2-2, 22 KOs, WBC Welterweight Champion – Recently moved up from 140 to 147 to upset Andre Berto and win a welterweight title. Could he be the one to finally derail Pacquiao at welterweight? Ring Magazine #2 ranked welterweight.
5. Brandon Rios, 25, (Mexican-American) 27-0-1, 20 KOs, WBA Lightweight Champion – Recently defeated Miguel Acosta to win a lightweight title. Upcoming first defense July 9 against formidable contender Urbano Antillon. Ring Magazine #1 ranked lightweight.
6. Hugo Cazares, 33, (Mexican), 34-6-2, 24 KOs, WBA Super Flyweight Champion – Two-division champion. 2 losses in the last 10 years, both to Ivan Calderon. Has recently made a habit of traveling to Japan and has had great success (wins over Nashiro & Hisataka). Ring Magazine #1 ranked junior bantamweight.
7. Humberto Soto, 30, (Mexican) 55-7-2, 32 KOs, WBC Lightweight Champion – Defeated Antillon in a close one in late 2010. Two-division champion. Needs a meaningful fight to improve or at least maintain his current ranking. Ring Magazine #2 ranked lightweight.
8. Robert Guerrero, 28, (Mexican-American) 29-1-1, 18 KOs – Former champ waiting for a big bout. Solid wins against Litzau, Casamayor, Katsidis. Two-division champion. Ring Magazine #3 ranked lightweight.
9. Orlando Salido, 30, (Mexican) 35-11-2, 23 KOs, WBO Featherweight Champion -Upset highly touted Juan Manuel Lopez via TKO. He took Lopez?s undefeated record and featherweight title. In the last 9 years, has only been easily defeated by Juan Manuel Marquez and Yuriorkis Gamboa. Convincingly defeated Robert Guerrero in 2006, but the victory was later ruled a No Contest due to Salido testing positive for a steroid post-fight. Expected to defend his new title in Mexico this summer before facing Lopez in a fall rematch. Ring Magazine #3 ranked featherweight.
10. Fernando Montiel, 32, (Mexican) 44-3-2, 34 KOs – Looked stellar prior to getting crushed by Nonito Donaire, the Ring Magazine #3 p4per. Three-division champion. Ring Magazine #5 ranked bantamweight.
11. Hernan Marquez, 22, (Mexican) 30-2, 23 KOs, WBA Flyweight Champion – Recently won a flyweight title in Concepcion?s backyard in a FOTY candidate. Ring Magazine #3 ranked flyweight.
12. Alfredo Angulo, 28, (Mexican) 19-1, 16 KOs – Visa problems have halted his career temporarily. Ring Magazine #3 ranked junior middleweight.
13. Jhonny Gonzalez, 29, (Mexican) 48-7, 42 KOs, WBC Featherweight Champion – Recently traveled to Japan and upset Hasegawa for featherweight title. Holds a victory over Montiel. Two-division champion. Ring Magazine #10 ranked featherweight.
14. Erik Morales, 34, (Mexican) 51-6, 35 KOs – Recently shocked the world by giving Marcos Maidana hell at junior welterweight in spirited losing effort. Three-division champion. Ring Magazine #8 ranked junior welterweight.
15. Saul Alvarez, 20, (Mexican) 36-0-1, 26 KOs, WBC Junior Middleweight Champion – Still has yet to defeat a quality opponent his size. A lot of hype, little quality wins. Upcoming June 18 defense against Ryan Rhodes, a fighter his size, should help answer some questions. Ring Magazine #9 ranked junior middleweight.
16. Miguel Vasquez, 24, (Mexican) 28-3, 12 KOs, IBF Lightweight Champion – Only has three losses (Saul Alvarez twice, Timothy Bradley). Ring Magazine #9 ranked lightweight.
17. Urbano Antillon, 28, (Mexican) 28-2, 20 KOs – Fought Humbero Soto extremely close in his last fight. Gets another shot at a world title July 9 against Brandon Rios. Ring Magazine #8 ranked lightweight.
18. David Lopez, 33, (Mexican) 40-12, 23 KOs – Hasn?t lost since 2005. Currently riding a 16 fight win streak. Will finally have a title shot opportunity (WBA junior middleweight title) June 11 against Austin Trout. Ring Magazine #8 ranked middleweight.
19. Tomas Rojas, 30, (Mexican) 35-12-1, 23 KOs – WBC Super Flyweight Champion. May 21st defense against compatriot Juan Jose Montes (19-1, 12 KOs). Ring Magazine #2 ranked junior bantamweight.
20. Adrian Hernandez, 22, (Mexican) 21-1-1 (13 KOs), WBC Light Flyweight Champion – Now holds victories over Rodel Mayol (KO4) and Gilberto Keb Baas (TKO4, RTD10). Ring Magazine #1 ranked junior flyweight.
Top 20 Contenders
Rafael Marquez, 34, (Mexican) 39-6, 35 KOs – Two-division champion. 2-3 in last 5 fights. May be better than a few of the fighters in the top 20. However, he must prove it at this stage because there’s no telling how much he has left. Ring Magazine #9 ranked featherweight.
Raul “Rayito” Garcia, 28, (Mexican) 30-1-1, 18 KOs, WBO Strawweight Champion – Two-time strawweight champion. Twin brother of Ramon Garcia Hirales. Ring Magazine #4 ranked strawweight.
Ulises Solis, 29, (Mexican) 33-2-3, 21 KOs – Ring Magazine #8 ranked junior flyweight. Two-time champion. Most recently traveled to Argentina and won the IBF light flyweight title he held several years ago. IBF Light Flyweight Champion.
Cristobal Cruz, 33, (Mexican) 39-12-2 – Former featherweight champion. Holds victories over Jorge Solis and Orlando Salido. Lost to Salido in a rematch. Has been inactive for over a year.
Daniel Ponce De Leon, 30, (Mexican) 41-3, 34 KOs – Recently lost a controversial decision to Adrien Broner on HBO. Seems to have recovered from first round knockout suffered at the hands of Juan Manuel Lopez a few years ago. Ring Magazine #5 ranked featherweight.
Edgar Sosa, 31, (Mexican) 42-6, 25 KOs – Ring Magazine #10 ranked flyweight. Former WBC light flyweight champion. Previously racked up 10 defenses of that title. Wins over Baas and Viloria.
Miguel Angel Garcia, 23, (Mexican-American) 25-0, 21 KOs – Up-and-coming featherweight. Lacks notable wins but has looked like the real deal to date.
Hugo Ruiz, 22, (Mexican) 27-1, 25 KOs -Up-and-coming bantamweight. Has upcoming big fight against Francisco Arce.
A Few Notes
If I were ranking strictly on potential, my list would look much different. There are several fighters who are probably rated a bit high but they have the credentials to support their ranking. For example, I don’t think as highly of Segura as some do, but those two wins over Calderon trump most of what the others have accomplished to date.
In compiling the top 20 this time around, I actually came up with a top 50. I may post that list at a later date.
For those of us always looking to spot the next Morales, Barrera, Marquez, or even an Orlando Salido type, this list should hopefully prove to be a useful tool in that process.
Questions? Comments? Please post your comments here or shoot me an email at: [email protected]
