England vs Mexico – 5 Classic Boxing Fights

England defeated Mexico in the last 16 of the 2026 World Cup in a thrilling encounter – but we aren’t here to discuss football. Instead, we’ll be looking at five of the greatest and most notable boxing matches in history between Mexican and English fighters.

Generally, English pugilists have struggled against Mexican boxers. We’re not quite sure why – is it the front-foot style that English fighters have so much trouble with? Is Mexico simply a superior boxing nation? As part of Team GB, England have had more success on the amateur stage than Mexican fighters have, but it is a different story entirely in the professional ranks.

Which is your favourite encounter between Mexican and English fighters? We’d love to know – but nonetheless, here are our picks.

Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz I

One of the biggest upsets in boxing history, Andy Ruiz was brought in at short notice to take on the then-undefeated Heavyweight king Anthony Joshua in what was seen as little more than a routine title defence for AJ. As we all know, it didn’t quite work out like that for the Brit in his US debut.

Starting strongly, Joshua dictated the tempo early on, before dropping Ruiz with a crushing rear uppercut-left hook combination in the third. Despite being hurt, Ruiz pushed on, absorbing another monstrous right hand. He then connected with a left hook on AJ’s temple, throwing his equilibrium completely out of whack. Stunned and dropped, Joshua battled on, but couldn’t fully recover.

Ruiz procreeded to pummel the Watford man over the next four rounds, dropping him thrice more before referee Michael Griffin called a halt to the proceedings. Ruiz jumped for joy in the centre of the ring, creating one of boxing’s most enduring celebratory clips. AJ won the rematch comfortably, but no-one can ever take this victory away from Ruiz – on this night, he truly was ‘The Destroyer’.

Marco Antonio Barrera vs ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed

For many, this was a bout of sweet vindication. ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed had become a figure of pure entertainment in the lower weight classes, blending lightning-quick speed with outrageous showmanship – but by 2001, he had become quite the hated villain in pugilistic circles.

An arrogant, brash personality, he contrasted perfectly with the soft-spoken Marco Antonio Barrera. A fighter who preferred to let his fists do the talking, he did just that against Hamed in the MGM Grand. Instead of walking onto the Sheffield man’s shots, he waited paitiently for openings, punishing every mistake that Hamed made – and on this night, he made plenty of them.

Winning almost every round and landing some brutal shots along the way, Barrera won by wide unanimous decision. Hamed expressed his desire to invoke his rematch clause, stating that he would ‘knock him out’ in their second fight, but it never came to fruition. Perhaps cooler heads prevailed? Whatever the case, this was a beatdown that several audiences felt had been a long time coming.

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez vs Billy Joe Saunders

In many ways, this fight had a similar vibe to Hamed vs Barrera. Billy Joe Saunders was, to put it bluntly, unpopular. An abrasive character with a laundry list of controversies, he went into this one as the underdog. It suited him – he wanted to knock boxing’s biggest superstar off his perch and claim the throne as the usurper king.

However, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez had other ideas. He struggled to pin down Saunders early on, as the Englishman used his awkward movement and deceptive speed to brilliant effect. Nevertheless, Canelo had begun to break him down with a sustained body attack.

Then, in Round 8, Canelo landed a crushing uppercut that shattered Saunders’ orbital bone. He lasted till the end of the round, but was unable to carry on, leading to a TKO win for the Mexican superstar. In one punch, Saunders’ career was over – he has not fought since. In a TalkSPORT interview, Saunders dismissed the idea that he ‘quit’ – make your own mind up on that one.

Mauricio Lara vs Josh Warrington I

We’ll be honest – we did not see this result coming. When Josh Warrington took on Mauricio ‘Bronco’ Lara in 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic, no-one believed that Lara could actually pull off the upset. He didn’t just do that – he absolutely annihilated the Leeds cult hero.

Warrington applied his typical front-foot approach, looking to overwhelm Lara – but he wasn’t ready for the power that the Mexican possess, particularly in his left hook. Walking through Warrington’s shots, Lara landed a number of crunching blows to both the head and the body.

By Round 9, Warrington was all over the place. One final left hook rendered him unconscious, giving Lara an unexpected – but richly deserved – victory on foreign soil.

Ricky Hatton vs Jose Luis Castillo

Well, we couldn’t give Mexico a clean sweep in this list, could we? Granted, Jose Luis Castillo was well beyond his best in this fight, but it was still a brilliant night for English boxing and Ricky Hatton fans alike.

Overwhelming and out-fighting the older man, Hatton was simply too quick and too energetic for Castillo to handle. The first three rounds were competitive, but Hatton ended things in the fourth when he drilled Castillo to the body with an hellacious left hook – his trademark punch.

Hatton gave British boxing fans plenty of wonderful nights – this one was certainly up there. One of the most popular and beloved fighters in boxing history, he will be sorely missed – but never forgotten.