By Francisco Hernandez: For a long time Mexico City was the seedbed of great boxers for the Mexican nation. A neighborhood like Tepito (Aztec word meaning small temple), produced more world class fighters and champions than most nations will ever dream of having. There was a host of great trainers capable of teaching the art of boxing, old timers who are now in Heaven. Of course Arturo “el cuyo” Hernandez stands out amongst them. They produced a school of boxing that took generations to evolve, inherited by Nacho Beristain and his lifelong pupil Daniel Zaragoza. With the retirement of Ricardo “finito” Lopez, only Juan Manuel Marquez and his brother Rafael Marquez remain as examples of that school of boxing. Trainer Nacho Beristain is not getting any younger; Daniel Zaragoza needs to take the torch and keep the flame alive. Who knows if Zaragoza is capable of such a mission? It could be that with the departure of Nacho Beristain, the school of boxing developed by generations of trainers and boxers in Mexico City could finally come to an end.

The boxing center in Mexico is now shifting to Sinaloa state, a region in Northwestern Mexico. The state is known for its gunfighters and hit men. Boxing has always been a favorite sport in Sinaloa. Legendary trainer Ramon “el zurdo” Felix was the man responsible for putting Sinaloa on the map of the boxing universe. Ramon Felix trained champion Jose Luis Ramirez, a Native-American of the Mayo tribe of Sonora. Felix would refine and develop his boxing technique with Ramirez who fought many boxing legends and even got robbed in a fight against legend Alexis Arguello in which Ramirez put Arguello down on the canvas. It would be Julio Cesar Chavez who would reap the reward of those efforts. Chavez received the benefit of all the experience of trainer Ramon Felix. Chavez would go on to become a legend and make Sinaloa the new seedbed of Mexican boxers.

Ramon “el zurdo” Felix would unfortunately die in the waters of the Mediterranean coast of France and take his boxing knowledge with him. His pupil Jose Luis Ramirez has never wanted to become a trainer; he has no patience, he loses his temper easily when pupils don’t catch on quickly, he has preferred to move away from boxing. Trainer Rodolfo Chavez, Julio Cesar Chavez’s older brother has not been successful as a trainer; he was replaced by Freddie Roach to train Julio Cesar Chavez junior. Sinaloa has not yet produced a school of boxing to rival the technical excellence of their Mexico City brothers, but they are becoming successful in taking world championships. Currently Sinaloa has five world champions, the best of them being bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel. Fernando belongs to a family of boxers and trainers. It is the Montiel family who is in the process of developing a school of boxing in Sinaloa that can eventually begin to produce quality fighters. Fernando Montiel is the first fruit of this school and hopefully one of many to come.