Ranking the Mexico vs. Puerto Rico Boxing Rivalry's Best Fights

Mexico vs. Puerto Rico.

It’s the most heated rivalry in all of boxing—and maybe even the most celebrated in all of sports. And with a new edition heading our way on Saturday night via Canelo Alvarez vs. Miguel Cotto, it’s only fitting to look back at the some of the best fights the fantastic genre has had to offer to date.

If the middleweight tussle between Alvarez and Cotto is to crack the list of the 10 best Mexico vs. Puerto Rico fights in boxing history, the two superstars will have to give everything they have on fight night. It will require blood, sweat, tears and courage to etch their names among some of the very best fights in boxing history.

Here are the 10 best bouts of the Mexico vs. Puerto Rico boxing rivalry.

10. Felix Trinidad vs. Luis Ramon Campas (1994)

Date: September 17, 1994

Venue: MGM Grand, Las Vegas

Result: Trinidad (Puerto Rico) defeated Campas (Mexico) by Round 4 TKO

Division: Welterweight

The Fight

In a battle of undefeated stars, Trinidad knocked out Campas in a four-round slugfest. Coming into the fight 56-0 with 50 knockouts, Campas made his mark early in the bout by dropping Trinidad in Round 2 with a crisp left hook.

But Trinidad weathered the storm. He got to his feet, kept Campas off of him for the rest of the round and proceeded to take over the fight by the next one. By Round 4, Trinidad had beaten Campas to the ropes and clobbered him with thudding punches that left Campas helpless enough for referee Richard Steele to stop it.

9. Orlando Salido vs. Juan Manuel Lopez (2011)

Ricardo Arduengo/Associated Press

Salido proved too tough for Lopez.

Date: April 16, 2011

Venue: Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico

Result: Salido (Mexico) defeated Lopez (Puerto Rico) by Round 8 KO

Division: Featherweight

The Fight 

The rugged Salido handed JuanMa his first loss as a professional in front of the Puerto Rican’s flabbergasted home crowd by outslugging the hard-hitting Lopez over the course of a torrid fight. Salido weathered Lopez’s sharp blows to land his own sharper, more damaging shots for most of the night.

The Mexican knocked Lopez to the canvas in Round 5, and by Round 8, he was practically landing his punches at will. Referee Roberto Ramirez Jr. halted the action when it appeared Lopez was out on his feet.

8. Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito (2008)

Eric Jamison/Associated Press

Margarito stopped Cotto in Round 11.

Date: July 26, 2008

Venue: MGM Grand, Las Vegas

Result: Margarito (Mexico) defeated Cotto (Puerto Rico) by Round 11 TKO

Division: Welterweight

The Fight

It was a savage welterweight slugfest that has since become one of the most controversial fights in boxing history. Cotto was undefeated going into the fight, but Margarito was a legitimate threat to the pound-for-pound star because he was larger and very strong.

The fight was hotly contested until Margarito’s volume punching started to turn the tide in the second half of the fight. By Round 11, a bloodied and weary Cotto was in full retreat mode. He took a knee after a Margarito combination and rose to his feet only to see his corner throw in the towel moments later as Margarito continued to punish him.

However, in his very next fight, Margarito was forced to rewrap his hands after his opponent's camp noticed a plaster-like appearance within them, leaving some to wonder if his win over Cotto was fought fair and clean. 

7. Sixto Escobar vs. Rodolfo 'Baby' Casanova (1934)

Associated Press

Fans, including the ones pictured above, were treated to the rivalry way back in 1934.

Date: June 26, 1934

Venue: Montreal Forum, Montreal

Result: Escobar (Puerto Rico) defeated Casanova (Mexico) by Round 9 KO

Division: Bantamweight

The Fight

Seventy-seven years before the first Cotto-Margarito fight, Escobar stopped Casanova to perhaps lay the groundwork to the historic boxing rivalry between the two countries.

The fight was largely one-sided, as the skilled Escobar dominated the bout with his superior arsenal and prolific power. The win netted Esobar the honor of becoming the first Puerto Rican to capture a world title.

Casanova, on the other hand, was brave in defeat. The Mexican rose to his feet in Round 3 after suffering the first knockdown of his career and continued his efforts to win the fight until he was brutally walloped to the canvas by Escobar’s left hook-right uppercut combination to end things.

6. Wilfredo Gomez vs. Lupe Pintor (1982)

Anonymous/Associated Press

Gomez outlasted Pintor in a classic.

Date: December 3, 1982

Venue: Superdome, New Orleans

Result: Gomez (Puerto Rico) defeated Pintor (Mexico) by Round 14 KO

Division: Junior Featherweight

The Fight

In a classic matchup between flashy boxer and unrelenting slugger, Gomez outlasted Pintor to defend his junior welterweight title for the 17th and final time of his illustrious career. Pintor was relentless is pressuring Gomez. The rugged hurler charged toward Gomez until the very end of the fight.

Both men took a beating, but it was ultimately Gomez who took the win. In Round 14, Gomez utilized devastating hooks to drop Pintor twice before referee Arthur Mercante stopped it.  

5. Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Edwin Rosario (1987)

Date: November 21, 1987

Venue: Hilton Outdoor Arena, Las Vegas

Result: Chavez (Mexico) defeated Rosario (Puerto Rico) by Round 11 KO.

Division: Lightweight

The Fight

The measuring stick by which every Mexican fighter who came after him is now judged, Chavez was at his peak when he thrashed Rosario in 1987. The win earned the relentless Chavez his 56th straight win and second world title. It was Chavez’s first foray into the lightweight division, making him a two-division champion.

Chavez was the prototypical Mexican fighter. He pressured Rosario and hurt him with hooks to the head and body until his opponent was virtually defenseless. Rosario’s corner threw in the towel in Round 11 after Chavez had trapped their fighter into the corner to ruthlessly batter him.

4. Wilfredo Gomez vs. Carlos Zarate (1978)

Date: October 28, 1978

Venue: Coliseo Roberto Clemente, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico

Result: Gomez (Puerto Rico) defeated Zarate (Mexico) by Round 5 KO

Division: Junior Featherweight

The Fight

Probably his country’s greatest all-time boxer, Gomez delivered in a big way against the dangerous Zarate to defend his junior featherweight crown against a hard-hitting, longtime bantamweight king.

Zarate was undefeated coming into the fight and had won all but one of his bouts by knockout. But Gomez was too much for the Mexican. His faster hands and more athletic body allowed him to completely dominate Zarate until the bout was finally halted by referee Harry Gibbs in Round 5.

3. Felix Trinidad vs. Fernando Vargas (2000)

JOHN GURZINSKI/Getty Images

Trinidad-Vargas was an action-packed fight.

Date: Dec. 2, 2000

Venue: Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas

Result: Trinidad (Puerto Rico) defeated Vargas (Mexican-American) by Round 12 KO.

Division: Junior Middleweight

The Fight

After dropping Vargas twice in the opening round, Trinidad appeared to be on his way to an early-stoppage win. But Vargas battled back and managed to drop Trinidad in Round 4.

The fight was brutal carnage from that point forward, as each man tried his best to deliver the knockout. Eventually, it was Trinidad who captured the desired outcome. He knocked Vargas down three times in Round 12 to force referee Jay Nady to stop the fight, earning an outstanding victory in a slugfest of epic proportions.

2. Jose Luis Ramirez vs. Edwin Rosario (1984)

Date: November 3, 1984

Venue: Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Result: Ramirez (Mexico) defeated Rosario (Puerto Rico) by Round 4 KO

Division: Lightweight

The Fight: In the rematch of their hotly contested first fight a year prior, Ramirez and Rosario put on a show in 1984. Rosario appeared to be on his way to another win. The Puerto Rican looked to add to his close decision victory with a knockout this time around, as he floored Ramirez in the first and second rounds.

But Ramirez remained undeterred. He pressed forward, caught Rosario with a right hand in Round 3 and slugged his way to the impressive Round 4 knockout win.

1. Salvador Sanchez vs. Wilfredo Gomez (1981)

SCOTT HENRY/Associated Press

Can Cotto-Canelo live up to Sanchez-Gomez?

Date: August 21, 1981

Venue: Caesars Palace, Las Vegas

Result: Sanchez (Mexico) defeated Gomez (Puerto Rico) by Round 8 KO

Division: Featherweight

The Fight

Sanchez-Gomez is the standard bearer for all Mexico vs. Puerto Rico bouts. Both men threw punches at a blistering pace. The undefeated Gomez was resilient after he was floored in Round 1, hurling himself into the action from that moment forward.

But the larger, smoother Sanchez proved too strong for Gomez. Sanchez landed thudding right hands in Round 8 to stop his opponent, who bravely had risen to his feet after the knockout before referee Carlos Padilla waved it off.