10 classic Mexican rivalries

1. MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA vs ERIK MORALES
   The Barrera-Morales trilogy is rightly regarded as one of the greatest collection of contests in history. Their bitter feud was rooted in the historic rivalry between their respective hometowns of Mexico City (Barrera) and Tijuana (Morales). After losing to Morales at super-bantamweight, Barrera triumphed at featherweight and super-feather to come out on top overall.
2. RUBEN OLIVARES vs CHUCHO CASTILLO
   Before Barrera and Morales, there was Olivares and Castillo. Their intense enmity stemmed from the fact that they were polar opposites – Olivares was the larger-than-life playboy and Castillo was the self-effacing common man. Of their three brutal bantamweight battles, Olivares won two and Castillo prevailed once.
3. CARLOS ZARATE vs ALFONSO ZAMORA
   The explosive “Z Boys” only shared a ring for a little more than 10 minutes, but their grudge ran far deeper than that – they had previously been stablemates, but they were far from friends. On a riotous and feverish night, Zarate stopped Zamora in their hotly anticipated clash of big-hitting bantams, with their teams becoming embroiled in a scuffle after the bell.
4. RAFAEL MARQUEZ vs ISRAEL VAZQUEZ
   In the space of just over three years, Marquez and Vazquez went to war on four separate occasions. The Mexico City men were made for each other, with their ferocious, all-action series being among the most exciting and dramatic the sport has ever produced. They fought three times at super-bantamweight and once at featherweight, notching two wins apiece.
5. LUPE PINTOR vs CARLOS ZARATE
   Up against another ex-stablemate, Zarate looked to have done enough to comfortably retain his bantamweight title, but Pintor was awarded a highly controversial victory.
6. JUAN FRANCISCO ESTRADA vs CARLOS CUADRAS
   Twice these super-flyweight standouts have thrilled fans by going toe-to-toe in top-quality encounters. In both instances Estrada has earned the spoils.
7. CANELO ALVAREZ vs JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ JNR
   Fighting at a 164.5lb catchweight, superstar Canelo conclusively shut out the bad boy “Son of the Legend”.
8. CARLOS PALOMINO vs ARMANDO MUNIZ
   US nationals who were each born in Mexico, Palomino overcame Muniz in both of their fiery welter scraps.
9. LEO SANTA CRUZ vs ABNER MARES
   The warring featherweights went hell for leather across two fights, with Santa Cruz succeeding twice.
10. RAFAEL HERRERA vs RUBEN OLIVARES
    Herrera took Olivares’ bantamweight crown in an upset, before winning again in a 120lb catchweight rematch.

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