Juan Manuel Marquez, a living legend of Mexican boxing, already wants to leave behind his compatriot Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and proposes names for his possible successors in the sport of gloves in Mexico when “Canelo” retires.
The man nicknamed “Dinamita” is one of the authoritative voices of boxing in Mexico and put on the table two names that could be the successors of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Juan Manuel Marquez wants to leave Canelo Alvarez behind and proposes names for his possible successors
In a recent interview, Juan Manuel Marquez confessed who he considers will be the next face of Mexican boxing when Saul “Canelo” Alvarez retires. After being defeated by Terence Crawford, where he lost all his super middleweight division belts, questions arose among fans and experts about who will become the next figure in Mexican boxing when he decides to put an end to his career.
Who could take Saul Canelo Alvarez’s place when he retires according to Juan Manuel Marquez?
Juan Manuel Marquez, in an interview with Izquierdazo, said that Christian “Chispa” Medina, who has just become world champion, or Rafael “Divino” Espinoza are two of the boxers who can take the place of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez when he retires to be the new figure of Mexican boxing.
“There is, for example, a new champion, Chispa Medina. There is Rafael ‘Divino’ Espinoza, who for me has what it takes to be the face of boxing, he has good rivals in the featherweight division and if he jumps to super featherweight,” said Juan Manuel Marquez.
Both Mexican boxers are world champions with the World Boxing Organization (WBO). Christian Medina holds the title in the bantamweight division, while Divino Espinoza is in the featherweight category.
Divino Espinoza and Chispa Medina: Mexican world champions
Rafael Espinoza became world champion on December 9, 2023 when he defeated Robeisy Ramirez in a very intense fight. After 12 intense rounds, the Mexican took the victory after the judges gave him the victory by majority decision with scores of 113-113, 114-112 and 115-111.
After that moment, Divino has managed to make three successful defenses, all of them by technical knockout. The first was in June 2024 against his compatriot Sergio Chirino Sanchez, the second against Robeisy in December of the same year and the last against Edward Vazquez in May 2025.
For his part, Christian “Chispa” Medina was crowned world champion on September 14, 2025, when he defeated Japan’s Yoshiki Takei by technical knockout in the fourth round at the IG Arena in Nagoya, Japan.
The trajectory of both Mexican boxers reflects the robust moment that Aztec boxing is going through on the world stage, with championships achieved in international arenas and defenses that demonstrate the solidity of its champions.
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