David Benavidez has revealed who he sees as Mexico’s greatest-ever fighter, believing the Hall of Famer was in a class of his own when it came to his technical ability.
In a conversation surrounding all-time Mexican greats, Julio Cesar Chavez is often the first name that springs to mind.
This is because he remained undefeated, and became a three-weight world champion, in his first 90 professional fights, before ultimately retiring with a record of 107-6-2 (85 KOs).
Besides a controversial draw with Pernell Whitaker in 1993, Chavez hardly put a foot wrong during his unbeaten run, which came to an end after he lost to Frankie Randall in 1994.
But while acknowledging Chavez’s remarkable achievements, Benavidez feels that Salvador Sanchez should be considered the greatest Mexican fighter of all time.
As the WBC featherweight champion, Sanchez made nine successful title defences before tragically losing his life to a car crash in 1982.
Prior to that, he had a 15th-round finish over Azumah Nelson and engineered another notable stoppage in 1981, this time against Puerto Rico’s Wilfredo Gomez.
As a current champion who appreciates technical mastery, Benavidez told Luis Parra why he thinks Sanchez was the greatest Mexican to ever step through the ropes.
“Honestly, number one is Salvador Sanchez. The technique he had – I don’t think there will ever be another fighter quite like Salvador Sanchez.
“Then Julio Cesar Chavez, Ricardo Lopez, Marco Antonio Barrera… Who else? Juan Manuel Marquez. Erik Morales. There are a lot of great fighters. Oscar Valdez is an excellent fighter too. ‘El Vaquero’ [Emanuel Navarrete] as well. [Oscar De La Hoya], he’s top three.”
While De La Hoya was widely considered the sport’s No.1 operator in the late 1990s, the Mexican-American is rarely mentioned in discussions that specifically concern Mexican greats such as Chavez and Sanchez.
