1. Salvador Sánchez vs Julio César Chávez
Talk about a dream fight. This would have been one for the ages, no doubt. Speculation is inevitable when talking about the late Salvador Sánchez. The young star beat Hall of Famers like Danny López, Wilfredo Gómez and Azumah Nelson by the time he was 23.
The best Mexican boxer of all time against one that many assure would have become even better. But it didn’t happen. Sánchez died in a tragic car accident in 1982. This would have been one of the greatest matches ever. It’s hard to predict a winner, and even though most people say Sánchez would have won, I want to give The Great Mexican Champion the benefit of the doubt.
Know of another matchup? Should one of these have been ranked higher on the list? Who do you think would have won? Let us know, these fights make for great boxing discussions.
Kurt Vigil says
My father Toby Vigil Mexican lightweight, California State Champion, was a popular fan favorite at the famous Hollywood Legion Stadium. Known for his movie star good looks and flashy boxing style, Vigil had some epic fights during his career. Toby fought both popular Mexican fighters, Baby Arizmendi and Rodolfo Babyface Casanova. Matched against the popular Mexican Champion Casanova., the bout was held at the Stadium Nacional, in Mexico City. In 1938. The fight was a classic battle held in enemy territory with a boisterous, vociferous crowd. Casanova relentlessly pursued my father post to post attempting to land the big right hand he was known for, all the while eating punishing left/right combinations leaving Casanova’s face a bloody mess with both eyes swollen shut. At the end of ten rounds the referee awarded my dad a hard fought unanimous decision over the Mexican Champion. In 1941 at the Hollywood Legion Stadium, he fought Baby Arizmendi losing a closely contested decision. He said Arizmendi was a very fierce opponent, in which he had to use his left hand overtime, having broke his right hand on Arizmendi’s head in the first round.