Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is arguably one of the greatest Mexican fighters of this generation.
His achievements as a four-weight world champion and two-time undisputed title holder have put him amongst the pantheon of incredible fighters from his home country.
Canelo has been mentioned with names like Guinness world record holder Julio Cesar Chavez and Juan-Manuel Marquez, even though he has yet to finish his 20-year fighting career.
But where he ranks in the all-time list is very difficult to pinpoint with so many incredible names who span divisions and eras of the sport.
Canelo Alvarez ranks at the top in one of the worst statistics in the Mexican GOAT list
While he may feature on this list from CompuBox, his top spots come in categories that are not points of pride for the Guadalajara-born boxer.
In this top nine fighter list, he finds himself top for the fewest punches landed per round, with an average of 14.7.
To put that into perspective, Ruben Olivares lands on average 11 more each round compared to the undisputed champion.
| Mexican fighter | Fewest punches landed per round |
| Saul Alvarez | 14.7 |
| Juan-Manuel Marquez | 17.5 |
| Carlos Zarate | 18.7 |
| Ricardo Lopez | 18.9 |
| Erik Morales | 20.1 |
| Salvador Sanchez | 21.4 |
| Marco Barrera | 22 |
| Julio-Cesar Chavez | 25 |
| Ruben Olivares | 25.7 |
Olivares is considered one of the best of the lower weight classes, with an astonishing 79 knockouts in 89 victories in his 23-year career.
Tijuana’s Chavez Sr is a close second with his 25 average punches landed, and his overall connection rate is the highest across the rankings with 43.9%.
Saul also has the lowest power shots landed per round, with only 10.5 across his career fighting at the world level.
However, his overall connection percentage is the fourth highest in the list when accounting for all shots at 35.9%, above many of those in the table.
Juan Manuel Marquez snubbed Canelo Alvarez in his top Mexican greats list in 2022
Manuel Marquez, who is famed for his knockout of Manny Pacquiao, was once asked about his ranking of the best Mexico has to offer, and he found it difficult.
Speaking to Pro Box TV in 2022, ‘Dinamita’ said: “Mexico’s boxing history is very rich. It’s hard to name just five.
“Ruben Olivares, Carlos Zarate, Lupe Pintor, Salvador Sanchez, to name a few. (Marco Antonio) Barrera, (Erik) Morales, Chavez. I put myself at the end.
“Julio Cesar Chavez is number one. There’s also Ruben Olivares, Ricardo Lopez. It’s hard to name five, but number one is Julio Cesar Chavez. ‘La Chiquita’ Gonzalez as well.”
His omission of the modern great was a surprise, especially since the pair have not had any run-ins compared to Canelo’s feud with Oscar De La Hoya.
No surprises, though, of his number one being the man with 115 fights to his name, whose son, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, followed in his footsteps by becoming a WBC champion, but he could not replicate the legacy of his father.