Top 10 fighters from South America

1. BRIAN CASTANO
   Stocky super-welterweight Castano currently holds the WBO title. On July 17, the Argentine will get the chance to become the undisputed champion at 154lbs when he fights Jermell Charlo for all four sanctioning body belts.
2. ROGER GUTIERREZ
   One of the most improved boxers around, Gutierrez is a Venezuelan super-featherweight who has won six bouts on the spin. Last time out in January, he upset Rene Alvarado, who had beaten him three-and-a-half years previously.
3. JORGE LINARES
   An esteemed Venezuelan veteran who has collected titles at featherweight (WBC), super-featherweight (WBA) and lightweight (WBC and WBA), Linares takes on 135lb starlet Devin Haney this Saturday (May 29).
4. CARLOS GONGORA
   Sharpshooting southpaw Gongora has been making waves in the super-middleweight division of late. The Ecuadorian is coming off a pair of knockout victories over Ali Akhmedov and Christopher Pearson.
5. OSCAR ESCANDON
   The experienced Escandon halted a sequence of three inside-schedule losses by knocking out the touted Jhack Tepora in December 2019. The Colombian featherweight triumphed in a mere 90 seconds.
6. OSCAR RIVAS
   Most known for stopping Bryant Jennings and pushing Dillian Whyte hard in a losing effort (both in 2019), Colombia’s Rivas has swapped his status as a heavyweight contender for a run at the WBC’s inaugural bridgerweight strap.
7. ELEIDER ALVAREZ
   Another Colombian on the list, seasoned light-heavyweight Alvarez KO’d Sergey Kovalev to win the WBO belt in August 2018, but was defeated in a rematch six months later. He was stopped by Joe Smith Jnr nine months ago.
8. PATRICK TEIXEIRA
   A gutsy and spirited Brazilian portsider, Teixeira is a former WBO super-welterweight titlist who scored a career-best victory over Carlos Adames in November 2019. He lost his title to Brian Castano in February.
9. FERNANDO MARTINEZ
   Martinez ventured out of his native Argentina in December 2019 to face Athenkosi Dumezweni on the South African’s home turf. The visiting super-flyweight made his mark by securing a fine stoppage win.
10. ESQUIVA FALCAO
    It has been a case of slow and steady for middleweight Falcao in the pro ranks. He upped his level of opposition in February when he took on Artur Akavov, with the Brazilian left-hander winning after just four rounds.