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#1
1. Salvador Sanchez (Only loss was a SD. Died in a car accident at age 23. Only speculation, but had that accident not occurred, not only would no dispute me made on Mexico's greatest boxer or even athlete, but possibly considered among Sugar Ray Robinson as the elite of the very best.
2. Ricardo Lopez (The Master of Technician)
Then there is a gap IMO.
3A. Carlos Zarate (66-4-0 WITH 63 KOs ... WOW. Excitement!)
3B. Julio Cesar Chavez (Execution, Ring General and what makes it more impressive was his offensive physical skills were average for a good fighter, therefore making it much more difficult to win in dominating fashion. He had a hard punch and a great chin, but more so he had that freakish determination. The only fighter today I see with that is Juan Manuel Marquez.)
3C. Ruben Olivares (Again excitement. Stats of 89-13-3 with 78 KOs)
To me, the only active fighter among these ranks is Juan Manuel Marquez. I also have to acknowledge two other great warriors.
Erik Morales: WON 52 (KO 36) , LOST 8 (KO 2)
Among the very best ring technicians ever. This can be explained as he was among the first to dismantle the physically freakish but one handed, terrible footwork and a terrible boxer... Manny Pacquiao. After Manny learned footwork, and became two handed (using the right hand; quick right hook) with some excellent training by Roach, the rematch was to much for Morales to handle, and a final trilogy (as Manny was peaking) was Morales acknowledged no reason after the second round it was becoming futile to continue as the fight was over in the third round. Commentary after Morales explained Manny had become a new fighter and so strong and fast that he had no chance. Those are some big words from a legendary fighter to explain to the majority how dominating Manny was under the 130lbs mark!
Erik's greatest adversary was Barrera.
Marco Antonio Barrera: WON 67 (KO 44) , LOST 7 (KO 1)
A fighter who started as a pure slugger, a fans dream fighter as he would level opponents with a barrage of punches. Late in his career, he had become one of the top ring technicians active at the time. A strange reversal, but when you face Morales on a continuous basis, you better know how to fight well. After the first fight Morales won a SD on a controversial judgement,but a classic and maybe a top ten all-time. The rematch I felt was won by Morales, but Barrera got the decision thus forcing a trilogy. Another close bout Marco won by MD.
Both these legendary fighters suffered a total of 3 losses by KO. What is not surprising is they were all by one man... Manny Pacquiao. Otherwise, neither man would have suffered defeat by a knock-out.
Juan Manual Marquez:WON 54 (KO 39) , LOST 6 (KO 0) , DRAW 1
The beast Pacquiao who dismantled Barrera and Morales also had a trilogy against Pacquiao, but much different.
In their initial bout, Marquez was down 3 times in the first round, after that he went on to make that fight a draw. In a classic rematch, Pacquiao got the SD, but stated he never wanted to fight Marquez again. In a catch-weight bout many people thought was way to heavy in Manny's advantage and thought a KO was most likely couldn't be more wrong. Although Marquez went on round after round getting the better of Manny, the man who produces the big money won a decision... Manny Pacquiao, and only in the hopes that the public might get a Manny vs Floyd bout that would be taken off the table if Manny lost.
IMO, Marquez has a very rare ability to space him and his opponent within a round or so that will allow him maximum punch output, allowing him to get that snap at the end of a punch when hitting his opponent. His greatest asset is his tenacity and determination. I've seen footage of almost every fighter, and Marquez has a focus unparalleled. The much bigger, stronger, faster and technically better Mayweather (considered #1 for a long time) fought Marquez at a catch-weight of 142lbs. Marquez was fighting at featherweight (126lbs) just a few fights prior. For a thirty-six year old fighter that had been in many wars that takes years of fighters careers and lives, made the weight and although he was knocked down early and dominated, at no time after did Mayweather attempt a knockout as he stated it was to risky for a fighter he believed was to tough and his chin wouldn't give.
There have been many great Mexican fighters. I'm thankful that four out of many top ten lists I got to watch during my era and I got to watch each bout live (Chavez, Marquez, Morales and Barrera).
Once again, the list of the very great Mexican boxers is long, if we added very good this thread would never end! GL to all!
2. Ricardo Lopez (The Master of Technician)
Then there is a gap IMO.
3A. Carlos Zarate (66-4-0 WITH 63 KOs ... WOW. Excitement!)
3B. Julio Cesar Chavez (Execution, Ring General and what makes it more impressive was his offensive physical skills were average for a good fighter, therefore making it much more difficult to win in dominating fashion. He had a hard punch and a great chin, but more so he had that freakish determination. The only fighter today I see with that is Juan Manuel Marquez.)
3C. Ruben Olivares (Again excitement. Stats of 89-13-3 with 78 KOs)
To me, the only active fighter among these ranks is Juan Manuel Marquez. I also have to acknowledge two other great warriors.
Erik Morales: WON 52 (KO 36) , LOST 8 (KO 2)
Among the very best ring technicians ever. This can be explained as he was among the first to dismantle the physically freakish but one handed, terrible footwork and a terrible boxer... Manny Pacquiao. After Manny learned footwork, and became two handed (using the right hand; quick right hook) with some excellent training by Roach, the rematch was to much for Morales to handle, and a final trilogy (as Manny was peaking) was Morales acknowledged no reason after the second round it was becoming futile to continue as the fight was over in the third round. Commentary after Morales explained Manny had become a new fighter and so strong and fast that he had no chance. Those are some big words from a legendary fighter to explain to the majority how dominating Manny was under the 130lbs mark!
Erik's greatest adversary was Barrera.
Marco Antonio Barrera: WON 67 (KO 44) , LOST 7 (KO 1)
A fighter who started as a pure slugger, a fans dream fighter as he would level opponents with a barrage of punches. Late in his career, he had become one of the top ring technicians active at the time. A strange reversal, but when you face Morales on a continuous basis, you better know how to fight well. After the first fight Morales won a SD on a controversial judgement,but a classic and maybe a top ten all-time. The rematch I felt was won by Morales, but Barrera got the decision thus forcing a trilogy. Another close bout Marco won by MD.
Both these legendary fighters suffered a total of 3 losses by KO. What is not surprising is they were all by one man... Manny Pacquiao. Otherwise, neither man would have suffered defeat by a knock-out.
Juan Manual Marquez:WON 54 (KO 39) , LOST 6 (KO 0) , DRAW 1
The beast Pacquiao who dismantled Barrera and Morales also had a trilogy against Pacquiao, but much different.
In their initial bout, Marquez was down 3 times in the first round, after that he went on to make that fight a draw. In a classic rematch, Pacquiao got the SD, but stated he never wanted to fight Marquez again. In a catch-weight bout many people thought was way to heavy in Manny's advantage and thought a KO was most likely couldn't be more wrong. Although Marquez went on round after round getting the better of Manny, the man who produces the big money won a decision... Manny Pacquiao, and only in the hopes that the public might get a Manny vs Floyd bout that would be taken off the table if Manny lost.
IMO, Marquez has a very rare ability to space him and his opponent within a round or so that will allow him maximum punch output, allowing him to get that snap at the end of a punch when hitting his opponent. His greatest asset is his tenacity and determination. I've seen footage of almost every fighter, and Marquez has a focus unparalleled. The much bigger, stronger, faster and technically better Mayweather (considered #1 for a long time) fought Marquez at a catch-weight of 142lbs. Marquez was fighting at featherweight (126lbs) just a few fights prior. For a thirty-six year old fighter that had been in many wars that takes years of fighters careers and lives, made the weight and although he was knocked down early and dominated, at no time after did Mayweather attempt a knockout as he stated it was to risky for a fighter he believed was to tough and his chin wouldn't give.
There have been many great Mexican fighters. I'm thankful that four out of many top ten lists I got to watch during my era and I got to watch each bout live (Chavez, Marquez, Morales and Barrera).
Once again, the list of the very great Mexican boxers is long, if we added very good this thread would never end! GL to all!
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