The top three greatest Latin fighters

By Boxing News - 07/19/2011 - Comments

By Gerardo Granados: It is not exclusive but the macho way of life and the aggressive boxing style of the Latin fighters is quite particular, some times they have the courage and a heart so big that it is necessary to save these warriors from their self because it is on his nature to fight until they can not do it anymore and also they will try to destroy not only defeat their opponents. There have been many great Latin fighters in the past and for sure in the near future a lot more will come and they will share the tradition of these mean and brave sons of boxing.

First place belongs to a genuine fighter; he will always be remembered as one of the most feared, meanest and bravest fighter who ever laced a pair of gloves. Ladies and gentleman from El Chorrillo Panama the pride of a nation hall of fame member Roberto “Manos de piedra” Duran (W103 (70)-L16), a four weight division champion who fought in a span of five decades from 1968 to 2001, won his first world title at the age of seventeen years old and his last at the age thirty seven years old defeating twenty eight years old Iran Barkley; he fought for the last time for a world title at the age of forty seven years old against William Joppy. Former WBA World – WBC lightweight, WBC welter, WBA World light middle & WBC middle / W16 (13)-L6*.

Notables: Hector Camach, Patrick Goossen, William Joppy, Jorge Fernando Castro, Vinny Pazienza, Iran Barkley, Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler, Davey Moore, Pipino Cuevas, Wilfred Benitez, Sugar Ray Leonard, Carlos Palomino, Esteban De Jesus, Saoul Mamby, Guts Ishimatsu, Ken Buchanan, Hiroshi Kobayashi and Ernesto Marcel .

Second place hall of fame member Julio Cesar Chavez (T115 – W107 (86) – L6 (4) – D2) he holds the title fight record T37 – W31 (23) – L4 (3) – D2; Chavez engaged and defeated many great fighters but he did not retire at the right time and suffered a couple of unnecessary defeats. He also holds the record of 124,000 attendances for his fight against Greg Haugen in Mexico City at the Azteca Stadium back in 1993. He may be one of the last great champions to achieve more than one hundred wins in a boxing era in which it is quite rare to see a world champion reach more than one hundred wins in his boxing career. Former three division champion: WBC – IBF light welterweight, WBC – WBA World lightweight, WBC super featherweight.

Notables: Mario Martinez, Roger Mayweather, Rocky Lockridge, Juan La Porte, Edwin Rosario, Rafael Limon, Jose Luis Ramirez, Sammy Fuentes, Meldrick Taylor, Lonnie Smith, Hector Camacho, Greg Haugen, Pernell Whitaker, Frankie Randall, Tony Lopez, Giovanni Parisi, Oscar De la Hoya, Joey Gamache, Miguel Angel Gonzalez and Kostya Tszyu.

The island of Puerto Rico is not only full of beauty on his beaches and warm and polite people it is also blessed with some of the most skilled boxers in the history of the sport. On third place a man who shares the tradition of the great skilled fighters who have came out of the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, future hall of fame member Felix “Tito” Trinidad (W42(35)-L3), it is probable that the reader will not agree but I believe Tito has enough merits to be considered as number three. Former three division champion IBF – WBC welter, WBA World – IBF light middle & WBA World middle / W20 (15)-L1*.

Notables: Jake Rodriguez, Maurice Blocker, Hector Camacho, Luis Ramon Campas, Freddie Pendleton, Pernell Whitaker, Oscar De la Hoya, David Reid, Fernando Vargas, William Joppy, Bernard Hopkins, Hacine Cherifi, Ricardo Mayorga, Ronald Wright and Roy Jones Jr.

The names of Carlos Monzon, Wilfred Benitez, Salvador Sanchez, Wilfredo Gomez and Miguel Angel Cotto are also high runners. *Title fights record.

Some readers will argue that this list is none sense, but at the end each one of us is entitled to have an opinion and as a fight judge qualifies a boxing match based on his personal appreciation, we all can have a different opinion based on our personal preferences. Don´t we?



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