Mexico is boxing's promised land. The streets are empty whenever Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Saul Alvarez are fighting. Thousands of moustachioed men flood the streets to celebrate their victories. Little Mexican ni�os are given boxing gloves for their third birthday and are expected to not take them off until they turn pro at age 15, not even to go to the toilet. Boxing fills the sports pages and boxing gyms almost outnumber taco stands.
At least that's the impression that you get when you read about Mexican boxing in the American boxing media. I live in Mexico and sadly, I'm here to report that it's not true. Not even the bit about going to the toilet.
Yes, boxing is far more popular and mainstream here than it is north of the border. But American fans and commentators are under a few misapprehensions about the state of the sport down here. These observations are partly a response to that and partly the incoherent ramblings of a madman.
Bear in mind that these conclusions, such as they are, are based on nothing more than observation of my social circle, conversations with random people (mainly taxi drivers) and my own experience training in a couple of Mexican gyms. In other words, a rigorous and disciplined sociological survey with a huge sample size and a tiny margin of error...
Kimbo Slice Sugar Ray Leonard Sugar Ray Robinson Rocky Marciano
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