England showed the fighting spirit of a true champion as they battled to a 3-2 triumph over World Cup co-hosts Mexico in the small hours of Monday morning.
Contending with a red card, high altitude and an all-round chaotic environment at the Azteca stadium, Thomas Tuchel’s side produced a performance worthy of any major title.
As such, it is worth considering five pugilistic equivalents, even if Mexico so often get the better of us in a combat arena.
Ricky Hatton vs Jose Luis Castillo
Best known for losing a dubious decision to Floyd Mayweather in 2002, Jose Luis Castillo was the perfect opponent for Ricky Hatton to defeat more emphatically and, in turn, secure his own Mayweather showdown later that year.
While no longer at the peak of his powers when they collided in 2007, Castillo was nonetheless a two-time world champion whose power posed a genuine threat to ‘The Hitman’.
Sure enough, the Mexican was highly dangerous throughout their Las Vegas encounter, only for Hatton to seal his fourth-round stoppage with a sickening left hook to the body.
Shortly after landing his signature punch, the Mancunian stoked the flames of his next assignment by remarking: “There was more action in those four rounds than in Floyd Mayweather's last half dozen fights.”
Andy Ruiz Jr vs Anthony Joshua 2
Anthony Joshua was famously dealt a harsh lesson after attempting to trade hooks with a Mexican underdog in 2019.
Such scenarios will rarely end favourably for an Englishman, hence why ‘AJ’ suffered a seventh-round stoppage defeat in his first encounter with Andy Ruiz Jr.
Their immediate rematch, however, told a vastly different story, as Joshua kept to a strict gameplan and essentially boxed rings around the near 50lbs-heavier Ruiz.
In doing so, the Londoner earned a wide points victory and reclaimed his three world titles to become a two-time heavyweight champion, before summarising his thoughts by saying: “The first time was so nice, I had to do it twice.”
Jose Napoles vs John H. Stracey
John H. Stracey pulled off a resounding upset against Cuban-born Mexican Jose Napoles, who was making an 11th defence of his WBC title when they collided in 1975.
The two welterweights delivered a thrilling battle in Mexico City, where an estimated 60,000 fans had anticipated a one-sided victory for the 35-year-old champion.
Perhaps many of them expected this to materialise in the opening round, when Napoles scored a clean knockdown and appeared to be gathering serious momentum.
Yet Stracey, to his credit, managed to recover from the early scare and responded by flooring his man in round three, before orchestrating a stunning sixth-round finish.
Across his 51-fight career, the Londoner regards this as the most significant moment.
Mauricio Lara vs Leigh Wood 2
Nearly a year removed from his awe-inspiring 12th-round finish over Mick Conlan in 2022, Leigh Wood was suddenly plunged into a nightmare WBA title defence.
This resulted in a seventh-round stoppage defeat to Mauricio Lara who, just two years earlier, had engineered a similar outcome against featherweight rival Josh Warrington.
Wood was therefore under no shortage of pressure to win their immediate rematch, which saw him produce a dominant 12-round display against the deadly Mexican.
Not only had Lara exceeded the 126lb limit by over 3lbs, but it was revealed in March 2025 that he had also failed a doping test.
And despite being handed a backdated two-year ban by UK Anti-Doping, ‘El Bronco’ has remained an active fighter in Mexico ever since.
Prince Naseem Hamed vs Cesar Soto
While not the most decorated of Mexican champions, Cesar Soto did become the first man to defeat Castillo, who he stopped in round two of their 1993 encounter.
Naseem Hamed, meanwhile, was making the 13th defence of his WBO featherweight crown after having joined forces with legendary coach Emanuel Steward.
‘Naz’ was also trained by Oscar Suarez following his public split with Brendan Ingle, another iconic coach, who had played a key role in developing the Sheffield man’s unorthodox style.
Against WBC champion Soto in 1999, however, Hamed was caught with several eye-catching hooks before incurring two points deductions for unsportsmanlike behaviour.
These were dished out by referee Dale Grable after Hamed flipped Soto over his shoulder in round six.
But aside from this WWE-style move, it was a largely convincing unanimous decision, with ‘Naz’ utilising his speed and elusiveness to dethrone the reckless Mexican.
