By: Matt Zhang
In the center plaza, Zocalo, of Mexico City, a gigantic crowd of people come together to learn in the sweltering sun. 15 people, all popular Mexican boxers, stand in the center teaching the 14,299 participants basic boxing moves and combinations. All of the participants wear t-shirts in the colors of the Mexican national flag: red, green, white.
On June 18, 14,299 people attend an outdoor, 30-minute boxing class which shattered the previous world record of 3,250 people. The event started off with a tai-chi warmup before learning and reviewing basic boxing moves like a jab. Finally, it ended with a practice of different combinations of boxing moves. Additionally, the fifteen boxers leading the class allowed two 20-second water breaks during the 30-minutes of class.
There were fifteen Mexican boxers who led this class early in the morning. They were: Erik “El Terrible” Morales, Andy Ruiz Jr., Oscar Valdez, Jackie Nava, Humberto “Chiquita” Gonzalez, Miguel Berchelt, Jose “Pipino” Cuevas, Alfonso Zamora, Jose Luis Bueno, Jose Antonio “Jaguar” Aguirre, Ganigan Lopez, Adrian “Confesor” Hernandez, Ana Maria Torres, Alan David Picasso, and world champion Mariana “Barby” Juarez. With the help of Mexico City’s government, the World Boxing Council and other prominent figures like Rocky Balboa and boxer Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the event had a very successful launch.
Mexico City has won many Guinness World Records besides having the largest boxing class in the world. Some other Guinness World Records include having the largest number of free hotspot Wi-Fi zones in an urban area (21,500) and the biggest serving of packaged tacos (2,712). Additionally, Mexico City also holds the record to the largest number of people playing foosball at the same time (1,080).
Sources:
https://www.wane.com/don’t-miss/watch-mexico-city-breaks-guinness-record-for-largest-boxing-lesson/