Mexican legend Miguel Canto passes away
By Gabriel F. Cordero
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 17 Apr 2026
Miguel Canto (L) with Don Jose Sulaiman.
Former Mexican world champion and International Boxing Hall of Famer Miguel Canto Solís passed away in the early hours of Thursday, April 16, in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, after suffering a sudden heart attack and after battling health problems in recent years. He was 78.
Canto won the WBC flyweight world championship on January 8, 1975, after defeating Japan's Shoji Oguma, a feat that made him the first Yucatecan to win a professional world boxing championship, which he then defended 14 consecutive times.
The World Boxing Council and its president, Mauricio Sulaimán, have highlighted the sensational career of Miguel Canto, who became the first world champion of the era of WBC President for Life, José Sulaimán, in December 1975.
"It is with profound sadness that we learned of the passing of the immortal world champion Miguel Canto, one of the heroes of the Yucatán Peninsula, the great WBC flyweight champion, and a wonderful human being. May God have him in his holy glory," shared Mauricio Sulaimán, president of the World Boxing Council.
Known as "El Maestro" (The Master) and by many as the most technically skilled boxer in the history of Mexican boxing, he was known for his unique defensive style, a tight guard to neutralize opponents' attacks, and his powerful counterpunching.
Canto had a 13-year professional career between 1969 and 1982, accumulating 74 fights, of which he registered 61 victories, 15 by knockout, 9 defeats and four draws facing: Ignacio Espinal, Shoji Oguma, Martin Vargas, Kimio Furesawa, Antonio Avelar, Chan Hee Park, Gabriel Bernal, Jiro Takada, Candido Tellez and the extraordinary battles with Betulio Gonzalez.
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