Miguel Canto, a long-time flyweight champion and Boxing Hall of Famer, died Thursday at the age of 78.

Though not considered a power puncher – as evidenced by his scoring just 15 KOs among his career 61 victories, against nine defeats and four draws – Canto is regarded as one of Mexico’s greatest boxers. He was known as “El Maestro,” or “The Teacher,” for his hit-and-don’t-get-hit style – but he was no runner. He was a cerebral boxer in the style of Willie Pep or Wilfred Benitez, landing combinations from different angles and then turning his opponents to prevent ever being right in front of them.

That approach carried the 5ft 1in Canto to the WBC flyweight title in 1975, when he traveled to Japan to defeat Shoji Oguma by majority decision. Canto made 14 successful defenses of the belt, including twice avenging a 1973 defeat against Betulio Gonzalez in his first title attempt, plus notching two more wins over Oguma, before losing the title on a narrow unanimous decision to Chan Hee Park in 1979. After he was held to a draw in a rematch with Park, Canto’s career began to wind down. He fought just eight more times, losing his last three by stoppage, with his two other stoppage losses coming in the first three bouts of his career in 1969.

The fourth of nine siblings, Canto grew up in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, helping his father at the snack stand at the former Alcazar movie theater. Canto originally had dreamed of becoming a baseball player, but that changed when he was 14, after his older brother, according to the WBC’s website, brought him to watch Merida’s two hometown boxing heroes, Silverio Ortiz and Carlos Navarrete, box during one of their four meetings during the 1960s.

Canto had 36 amateur fights before turning pro. He was a road warrior during his career, boxing in Venezuela, the United States, Japan, Chile and South Korea, while fighting many times in his home country as well.

Speaking with Mexican outlet Excelsior in 2016, Canto explained his approach to the sport.

“I had a lot of fun with boxing, even when I was world champion,” Canto said. “I had a hell of a time. I liked it so much that I wasn't afraid of getting hit. Of course, I have to take some hits, but I learned how to move around.”

Canto was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1998 and was named co-Flyweight of the Century in 1999, alongside Pancho Villa, by the Associated Press.

The World Boxing Council wrote of Canto on its website: “We have lost a true great. Miguel Canto is irreplaceable. Yet, he will forever make Mexico and the World of Boxing so very, very proud. He showed us the way. What style, what guile, what skill, what courage, what determination, what professionalism!”

Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.