Puerto Rican-Mexican boxing rivalry

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While many people would agree that Puerto Ricans and Mexicans are, as Hispanics, cultural siblings in most aspects of life, among boxing critics, there has always been talks about a supposed Puerto Rican-Mexican boxing rivalry.

Historically, Mexican and Puerto Rican boxers have fought many important fights against each other. It should be observed that the supposed rivalry between boxers from Mexico and Puerto Rico has been a balanced one, as the winning percentage for these two groups of boxers against the other group is about 50 percent. Also, this supposed rivalry does not carry into other everyday endeavors, as Puerto Ricans and Mexicans generally enjoy a good relationship, as do other groups of Hispanics.

[edit] Important chapters of Puerto Ricans vs. Mexicans in boxing

  • Benitez-Palomino
    • Benitez wins the world Welterweight title with a 15 round decision.v
  • Camacho-Limon
    • Camacho conquers the world Jr. Lightweight title with a 5 round knockout
  • Camacho-Ramirez
    • Camacho conquers the world Lightweight title with a 12 round decision.
  • Chávez-Camacho
    • Chávez retains his world Jr. Welterweight title with a 12 round decision.
  • Chávez-Rosario
    • Chávez wins the world Lightweight title with an 11 round knockout
  • Cuevas-Espada
    • Cuevas beats Espada for the world Welterweight title, then successfully defends it three times against the same rival
  • de la Hoya-Camacho
    • de la Hoya beats Camacho by 12 round decision to retain the world welterweight title
  • Escobar-Casanova
    • Escobar becomes the first Puerto Rican world champion, winning the world Bantamweight title over Casanova by knockout in nine, in the first world title fight between a Puerto Rican and a Mexican
  • Gómez-Pintor
    • Gómez retains the world Jr. Featherweight title with a 14 round knockout in what was described by Ring Magazine as the fight of the 80s at the Jr. Featherweight division
  • Gómez-Zarate
    • Gómez retains his world Jr. Featherweight title by knockout in round five
  • Margarito-Cintron
    • Margarito defends his WBO world Welterweight title against Cintron via a five round knock out. In 2008, the two face off in a rematch this time with Margarito as the challenger. Cintron loses his IBF Welterweight title after suffering a sixth round knock out.
  • Lopez-Sanchez
    • Ricardo Lopez unifies the WBC and WBO Minimumweight titles by defeating WBO title holder Alex Sanchez via a five round knock out.
  • Ramirez-Rosario
    • In their first fight, Rosario conquers the vacant world Lightweight title with a 12 round decision. In their rematch, Ramirez wins the world title with a four round knockout
  • Sanchez-Gómez
    • Salvador Sanchez inflicts what many consider the greatest defeat in Puerto Rican boxing history, knocking Gómez out in eight rounds to retain the world Featherweight title
  • Sanchez-LaPorte
    • Sanchez defends his WBC Featherweight title against Juan Laporte. The two were scheduled for a rematch but Sanchez was killed in a car accident before the bout took place. LaPorte would go on to win the vacant WBC title shortly after.
  • Trinidad-de la Hoya
    • Trinidad defeats de la Hoya by a 12 round decision to unify the world Welterweight title, in what many Puerto Ricans see as revenge for Gómez's loss at the hands of Sanchez
  • Trinidad-Vargas
    • Trinidad recovers from a knockdown and drops Vargas five times, unifying the world's Jr Middleweight title with a 12 round knockout