Few sports have a national holiday or weekend. Boxing stands out with two pseudo-holidays: Cinco de Mayo in early May and Mexican Independence Day in mid-September. These are times when the sport takes center stage, with little competition from other events.
Cinco de Mayo isn’t celebrated in Mexico like Mexican Independence Day. However, the date has historical significance in Mexico, as it honors the Battle of Puebla, in which the Mexican Army defeated the French Army, and is recognized as a representation of Mexico’s fortitude against foreign invasion. Today, Cinco de Mayo is viewed as a celebration honoring Mexican-American culture and a night when boxing fans gather together to watch the sweet science.
For boxing fans, Cinco de Mayo also represents the time when one of, if not the biggest, fights of the year takes place with the sport’s most popular fighter stepping inside the ring. The five names that have loomed the largest and most consistently on Cinco de Mayo are Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, and Canelo Alvarez. Chavez and De La Hoya should take credit for starting the tradition of fighting on the Cinco de Mayo weekend. In May 1994, Chavez fought Frankie Randall in a rematch on one of Don King’s stacked cards. De La Hoya, in May 2003, faced Yory Boy Campas, commencing the tradition of fighting on the Cinco de Mayo weekend in the 2000s. The ‘Golden Boy’ has played both fighter and promoter for major fights on the holiday weekend.
“To be honest, my hope was for it to become what it has become,” De La Hoya explained to ESPN in 2017 while promoting Canelo Alvarez’s fight against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. “I wanted to make it a celebration. I wanted it to be a party and an excuse for boxing fans and non-boxing fans to come out to Vegas and enjoy a great fight and enjoy a great weekend with your friends or family and celebrate.”
Mayweather became the king of PPV fighting on Cinco de Mayo weekend, with numerous fights grossing millions in PPV buys. Alvarez followed in De La Hoya and Mayweather’s footsteps, keeping the tradition alive over the last decade, having fought 10 times on the holiday weekend since first winning a world title.
On May 2, this upcoming weekend, the tradition of blockbuster fights on Cinco de Mayo continues with not one but two significant fights featuring two monsters being tested. Former two-time super middleweight champion David “The Monster” Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) will move up from light heavyweight to meet current unified WBO/WBA cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs). That same morning, undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya “Monster” Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) takes on fellow countryman Junto Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) in what is considered the most important fight in Japanese boxing history.
If you have followed boxing for any amount of time or attempted to convert casual observers into hardcore fans of pugilism, you would know that box office, mega events aren’t synonymous with action-packed fights. More often than not, it’s just as likely for a major fight to be disappointing as it is to live up to the hype.
However, there have been more than enough memorable fights on the Cinco de Mayo weekend. One that sparked the premier rivalry of the last quarter century and arguably the greatest fight in the last 30 years. Here we’ll look at five of the best fights to occur on Cinco de Mayo weekend, ranging from different eras in the sport’s history, in no particular order.
FIVE OF THE BEST TO TAKE PLACE ON CINCO DE MAYO WEEKEND
Oscar De La Hoya (17-0, 15 KOs) TKO2 Rafael Ruelas (43-1, 34 KOs)-WBO and IBF Lightweight Titles
May 06, 1995; Caesar’s Palace – Paradise, Nevada
It wouldn’t be right to not include Oscar De La Hoya on a list of recommended fights that occurred on Cinco de Mayo weekend. Many may point to his career resurging sixth-round stoppage over Ricardo Mayorga or to his then-record-breaking fight with Floyd Mayweather, but we recommend looking back to the beginning of his career. Before he started the Cinco de Mayo tradition, and when he still had as many doubters as believers, De La Hoya headlined his first PPV against California rival Rafael Ruelas for the unified IBF and WBO lightweight titles.
The event broadcast by HBO’s TVKO was labeled as ‘La Batalla’ or the battle. Ruelas was viewed as the then-22-year-old De La Hoya’s first true test and an indication of whether he would fulfill the lofty expectations set upon him. One of the criticisms leveled at De La Hoya’s career was that he lost the majority of his biggest fights. But the fight with Ruelas puts that notion to rest.
De La Hoya ran through Ruelas quickly, landing 24 jabs in the first round and dropping him twice in the second round. The Olympic gold medalist’s now-famous left hook started Ruelas’ downfall, and a barrage of punches forced referee Richard Steele to end the fight. It was an emphatic notice to the boxing world for De La Hoya. Not only was he a real fighter, not just a commodity for promotion, but one who would be here for the foreseeable future.
Edwin Rosario (21-0, 20 KOs) UD12 Jose Luis Ramirez (82-4, 71 KOs) I-WBC Lightweight title
May 01, 1983; Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico
An oft-forgotten chapter in the Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry is the two battles between Edwin ‘Chapo’ Rosario and Jose Luis Ramirez. Their second encounter was a four-round war and the 1984 fight of the year. It’s one of the best fights to introduce new fans to the sweet science. It’s boxing at its most violent and dramatic, perfectly packaged in four rounds.
However, the first fight between the two was also great in its own right. A 20-year-old Rosario challenged for his first world title, the vacant WBC lightweight title, a championship vacated by the great Alexis Arguello. Ramirez, out of Mexico, held an incredible record of over 80 fights and 70-plus knockouts at only 24 years of age. A feat likely never to be duplicated again.
Over the first six rounds, Rosario built a lead, landing the heavier single blows. But the younger, less experienced fighter began to fade over the bout’s second half. Ramirez kept applying the pressure while maintaining his high work rate, closing the distance on Rosario and the judges’ scorecards.
After 12 rounds, Rosario was awarded a unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 115-113 in his favor. Perhaps the Puerto Rican puncher was lucky the fight was only 12 rounds and held in Puerto Rico. But it was a memorable showing from a young fighter against a veteran, who tested and asked Rosario to answer the sport’s toughest questions.
Floyd Mayweather (42-0, 26 KOs) UD12 Miguel Cotto (37-2, 30 KOs)-WBA Super Welterweight Title
May 05, 2012; MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada
When boxing fans think of Floyd Mayweather’s toughest battles, names like Jose Luis Castillo and Marcos Maidana seem to be mentioned the most.
In Mayweather’s first battle with Maidana, the Argentine threw the most punches ever thrown (858) over 12 rounds against the defensive genius. A fight that could have easily made this list, as it took place on Cinco de Mayo weekend in 2014.
While Maidana’s high volume and brash aggression posed a challenge for Mayweather, the defensive wizard still landed at a staggering 54-percent connect rate. According to CompuBox, throughout his career, Mayweather averaged an incredible 46 percent total punch connect rate. However, in Mayweather’s second venture to the junior middleweight division, he found himself in arguably his most competitive and exciting fight on PPV against Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto.
From a Compubox standpoint, Cotto forced Mayweather to exert himself possibly more than in any other fight. Mayweather landed at only a 26-percent total-punch connect rate, one of the lowest of his career, and threw the highest amount of punches, 687, over 12 rounds in a major PPV fight.
Out of all of Mayweather’s PPV bouts, the fight with Cotto is one of the premier ones, showcasing almost all of the five-division champion’s best qualities. Casual boxing observers and critics of Mayweather have accused him of using too much lateral movement and overusing the clinch. However, against Cotto, Mayweather fought through adversity- losing some of the one-sided rounds of his career, a bloody nose, all while dealing with the Puerto Rican’s jab and body attack. The sixth and eighth rounds, in particular, are two of the clearest rounds Mayweather has lost in his career.
Cotto and his trainer, Pedro Diaz, formulated a game plan that required Mayweather to make adjustments. It was in the 12th round that one of Mayweather’s most underrated qualities was highlighted, his conditioning. Mayweather landed some of his most devastating blows in the final round, stunning Cotto on numerous occasions.
Although the judges scored the fight wide for Mayweather, afterward, he acknowledged Cotto as one of his toughest opponents.
“You’re a hell of a champion,” Mayweather expressed to Cotto after their battle. “You’re the toughest guy I’ve ever fought.”
Manny Pacquiao (38-2-1, 29 KOs) SD12 (Draw) Juan Manuel Marquez (42-2-1, 33 KOs) 1-Lineal, Ring Magazine, WBA, and IBF Featherweight Titles
May 08, 2004; MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada
Without question, boxing’s only eight-division world champion, Manny Pacquiao, alongside Mike Tyson, is the most exciting PPV star in boxing history. On Cinco de Mayo weekend, he scored the highlight reel knockout of his career against Ricky Hatton in 2009 and participated in boxing’s highest-grossing bout against Floyd Mayweather in 2015. However, arguably, just as impactful, one of boxing’s greatest rivalries also began on that same weekend in 2004.
Following Pacquiao’s star-making performance against Marco Antonio Barrera, winning the lineal featherweight crown, the dynamic Filipino and his team had a goal in mind to fight all the top featherweights of the era one by one. Next in line was unified featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, a fighter waiting for his opportunity to show the world that he was not only the world’s best featherweight, but the best fighter out of his home country of Mexico.
In front of one of the most boisterous crowds of the era at the MGM Grand, Pacquiao and Marquez delivered an unforgettable classic that is still debated to this day. It was the start of a four-fight saga. And it all could have ended in one round.
Before reaching his absolute peak in the late 2000s, Pacquiao, in his 20s, fought with reckless abandon and sheer determination to land his left hand. Fighting in this manner left him open to more counters but also put massive pressure on his opponents to never lapse in focus or face the consequences.
In the first round, after being hit by a few counters, Pacquiao stepped in and landed his straight left hand, sending Marquez down to the canvas. Two more knockdowns ensued, and as Marquez lay on the floor after being dropped for the third time, he chose to rise and continue fighting. When the bell rang to end the first round, a feeling of disbelief swept the MGM Grand. Could Pacquiao actually be disposing of Marquez this quickly? Marquez, however, knew something the crowd and Pacquiao didn’t. The fight was only beginning.
Marquez, aware of his predicament and the mountain he had to climb to get back into the fight, worked his way back, winning rounds with his right-hand counters. Pacquiao’s left hand was still prevalent and landed frequently, but Marquez never went down again. There were several swing rounds that could have been scored for either man, at times, with little separating the two, other than the judges’ preference.
After 12 hard and punishing rounds, the judges came back with vastly different scorecards from one another. One judge scored the fight 115-110 for Marquez, while another scored it 115-110 for Pacquiao. The final judge mistakenly neglected to score the first round 10-6 in Pacquiao’s favor, resulting in a 113-113 scorecard. The fight was declared a split draw. Both fighters walked away disappointed with the decision, but, given the differing opinions on the fight’s winner, it was ultimately the correct call.
The fight, in a sense, was a coming-out party for Marquez, as he joined his contemporaries, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, with a classic fight attached to his name, and he had to go through hell to earn it.
“Fighting Pacquiao in his prime was like facing a demon,” Marquez later described. “He was fast and explosive, definitely one of my toughest opponents, and going down in history as one of the greatest rivalries.
Diego Corrales (39-2, 32 KOs) TKO 10 José Luis Castillo (52-6-1, 46 KOs)-WBO and WBC Lightweight Titles
May 07, 2005; Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Corrales-Castillo. Enough said. For those who were fortunate enough to be in attendance at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas or watching at home, Diego Corrales’ and Jose Luis Castillo’s first battle is likely still the best fight they have ever seen.
The bout was highly anticipated by hardcore boxing fans when it was first announced. Much like the first Barrera-Morales war, it was almost guaranteed to produce something special. The dramatic 10th round is what catapulted Corrales-Castillo into legendary status, but from the start, the fight was extraordinary. Both fighters put forth a clinic in inside fighting, with momentum shifts and constant ebbs and flows of action. With each passing round, the fight seemed to get better and better. The eighth round was the round of the year until the ninth and 10th rounds happened.
The late Corrales pushed himself to his limits and beyond to pull out the victory in the 10th round. After going through nine hellacious rounds, exhausted and suffering two knockdowns from a granite-chinned opponent, Corrales’ comeback was something out of a Hollywood film. There was controversy with the fight’s conclusion as Corrales removed his mouthpiece twice after the two knockdowns. He was deducted a point by referee Tony Weeks, earning a few extra seconds of rest. But, no matter, the ending was as thrilling as it could be. The crowd, with fans and fellow fighters in attendance, celebrated jubilantly at what they had witnessed.
Both fights, Corrales-Castillo and Pacquiao-Marquez, harken back to an era in boxing when fights had a place beyond PPV. Pacquiao-Marquez was broadcast on HBO’s World Championship Boxing, and Corrales-Castillo on Showtime Championship Boxing.
A time when the focus wasn’t on selling fans products or brands with a constant barrage of ads. The focus was on selling us on the fights and the fighters.
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