Juan Manuel Marquez said it was almost impossible to be among the top 10 Mexican players, but naming the greatest champion his country had ever produced seemed a much easier task.

The Hall of Famer himself is widely considered one of the top 10 Mexican fighters of all time, having won world titles in four weight classes.

Perhaps most importantly, Marquez had four iconic battles with Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao, ending their last meeting in 2012 with a devastating sixth-round victory.

Elsewhere in his career, “Dinamita” successfully defended his featherweight, super-featherweight and lightweight titles several times before calling the shots in 2014 for his 64-fight campaign.

While Marquez is certainly one of the best players his nation has ever produced, a position in the all-time top 10 remains extremely competitive, even for him.

When talking about Mexican champions, the first name that usually comes to mind is Julio Cesar Chavez, who previously had an astonishing 90-fight unbeaten streak. losing to Frank Randall in 1994.

In addition to him, Ruben Olivares, Carlos Zarate and Salvador Sanchez also deserve mention, although many would consider Canelo Alvarez one of the top 10 Mexican fighters of all time.

In an episode of the ProBox TV podcast, Marquez didn’t give a final top 10, but insisted that Chavez is “without a doubt the best.”

“The history of Mexican boxing is very affluent, it is tough [to list a top 10]. [There’s] Ruben Olivares, Carlos Zarate, Lupe Pintor, Salvador Sanchez, just to name a few.

“Because the history of boxing in Mexico is very affluent – [Marco Antonio] Barrera, [Erik] Morales, [Julio Cesar] Chavez – I put myself last. Chavez is without a doubt the best…Ricardo Lopez, Humberto Gonzalez.”

Lopez retired with an undefeated record of 51-0-1 (38 KOs) after becoming a two-time lightweight world champion, while Gonzalez became a three-time delicate flyweight world champion.

Barrera and Morales obviously also deserve to be in the consensus top 10, although that is a debate that will continue for years to come, especially as the country continues to produce outstanding talent.

Most Valuable Promotions is launching MVPW, a fresh global platform for women’s boxing, and has announced a multi-year deal with ESPN that will kick off on April 5 with three events in which Alycia Baumgardner, Caroline Dubois, Ellie Scotney, Shadasia Green and Holly Holm will compete in separate bouts.

The inaugural event, MVPW-01, will be MVP’s previously announced UK debut, headlined by WBC lightweight champion Dubois (12-0-1, 5 KO) and WBO titleholder Terri Harper (16-2-2, 6 KO) in a 10-round unification fight at Olympia Events in London. It will also feature unified women’s featherweight champion Scotney (11-0) taking on WBA champion Mayella Flores (13-1-1, 4 KO) to determine the undisputed champion in a fight scheduled for 10 rounds, while Chantelle Cameron (21-1, 8 KO) will move up two divisions and face Michaela Kotaskova (11-0-4, 2 KO) in 10-round junior middleweight fight for the vacant WBO title.

MVPW-02 will take place on April 17 at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden in Recent York, and unified junior lightweight champion Baumgardner (17-1, 7 KO) will defend her titles against South Korea’s Bo Mi Re Shin (19-3-3, 10 KO) in the main event, which will be fought under men’s rules and consists of 12 3-minute rounds. Green (16-1, 11 KO) will co-fight with her unified super middleweight titles against former delicate heavyweight champion Lani Daniels (11-4-2, 1 KO).

“Recent York sets the tone for boxing’s biggest nights. To become undisputed there was monumental, and the fans embraced me from the very beginning,” Baumgardner said in a statement. “For me, every fight comes with an ascension. I’m here to dominate and continue to build something that will last beyond belts. ESPN is the place where greatness is documented and I’m ready to perform at that level. This fight is also a special intersection: two Korean fighters on this type of stage is something fans don’t see often and I’m proud to represent every part of me.”

Holm (34-3-3, 9 KO) and Stephanie Han (12-0, 3 KO) will fight in a rematch for Han’s WBA lightweight title on May 30 at MVPW-03 in the champion’s backyard in El Paso, Texas. Han defeated Holm by technical decision after an accidental clash of heads ended their first meeting in the seventh round.

“This time in my city, there will be no excuses, no what-ifs, and there will be no doubt about who is the better player,” Han said. “I can’t wait to showcase my skills to millions of fans on ESPN.”

.@nakisa_bidarian makes it OFFICIAL! MVPW is here and here @ESPN! pic.twitter.com/J3PfEdpVrE

— MVP – Most Valuable Promotions (@MostVpromotions) March 6, 2026

ESPN will be the US home of MVPW until 2028. The promotion’s stable of fighters also includes unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano, undisputed bantamweight champion Cherneka Johnson, WBC featherweight champion Tiara Brown, IBF junior middleweight champion Oshae Jones, Ebanie Bridges and Tamm Thibeault.

“From the beginning, MVP has been strategically focused on creating an umbrella brand that is the global home of women’s boxing, featuring the best fighters in the world, that engages existing boxing fans and attracts an untapped fan demographic representing women’s sports, and today we proudly enter a fresh era,” said Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul, co-founders of Most Valuable Promotions. “Over the past five years, we have invested heavily in female athletes, hosted historic and record-breaking events, and proven that these female athletes belong on the biggest stages of the sport.”

When asked about the newly introduced Zuffa bar and what it would mean to add another title to his collection, Opetaia rejected the idea that the hardware itself made a substantial difference.

“These are just material things,” Opetaia said during a press conference. “They’re sitting in my house collecting dust in closets and stuff. It’s more about being a champion, being a world champion, having my name out there. That’s what I’m chasing.”

The comment was unique because Opetaia used the same press conference to reiterate his ambition to become the undisputed cruiserweight champion, a goal that depends entirely on winning major titles from the sport’s sanctioning bodies.

“My dream is to become undisputed,” Opetaia said. “If everyone doesn’t work together to make this dream come true, I won’t be able to achieve it.”

These two ideas don’t fit comfortably together. At the end of the night, the belts may go on the shelf, but they remain the same prizes that fighters must earn to prove they lead the division.

The remark also came as Opetaia praised Zuffa Boxing during fight week, saying he was treated better there than anywhere else while the promotion revealed its own championship belt.

Boxing has always had this strange habit. Fighters say that belts are just pieces of metal, and yet they devote their entire careers to chasing them, because these titles still determine who will be at the top.

Opetaia goes to Sunday’s fight with Glanton, who lives in the same reality. The strip may collect dust later, but the path he thinks he wants still runs straight through more of them.

Personally, I’ve always had a challenging time accepting that belts mean nothing when the entire sport still goes through them.