In a fight confirmed only recently back in March, Canelo Alvarez is slated to defend his undisputed super middleweight title against Jaime Munguia. The bout is set for Cinco de Mayo weekend and features the champion taking on the undefeated challenger who boasts an impressive record of 43-0. Of course, Alvarez is regarded as one of the best fighters in the world and has only lost twice in his career, most recently to Dmitry Bivol when he moved up to challenge for the WBA (Super) light heavyweight title. Meanwhile, his opponent has been on a tear and has knocked out an astounding 34 opponents in his career to date. At only 27 years of age, this will be Munguia’s biggest fight to date and an opportunity for history to be made if he can knock off Alvarez.
In this report, SBS will be going over what to look for from each fighter along with a predicted winner in this bout, along with even more information about boxing wagering and more.
As noted above, Alvarez is one of the most accomplished fighters of his generation. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes from light middleweight to light heavyweight. Moreover, he has also unified titles in three of those weight classes and lineal titles in two. He is the first and only boxer in history to become undisputed champion at super middleweight as well. In terms of his boxing style, he is known as “an excellent counterpuncher, being able to exploit openings in his opponents’ guards while avoiding punches with head and body movement. He is known as a formidable body puncher”
While he came up short against Bivol back in May 2022, he has since scored three straight unanimous decision victories. With his overall record now at an impressive 60-2-2, Alvarez is one a few fighters who has won over 60 professional bouts. Following his first loss in nearly 10 years, he would go on to score an impressive unanimous decision win over Gennady Golovkin in the pair’s trilogy fight in September 2022 in Las Vegas. Thanks to his spectacular prowess in the ring, he is ranked as the world’s fourth-best active boxer, pound for pound, by the Ring and third by BoxRec. Moreover, he is also noted as one of the sport’s biggest ever pay-per-view stars and is also consistently ranked as one of the biggest draws in the world.
With an undefeated record at only 27 years of age, Munguia has established a fantastic record of 43-0 and has plenty of his career hopefully left in front of him. Per one report, he is recognized as one of the top middleweight fighters in the world by multiple outlets including ESPN and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. Moreover, in addition to his dominant record, Munguia’s knockout-to-win ratio stands at an impressive 79%. Hailing from Tijuana, Mexico, he has scored four knockout or TKO wins in his last five fights. This includes victories over the likes of John Ryder, Jimmy Kelly, and also Sergiy Derevyanchenko. Of course, this bout will be his biggest to date since he has never faced a fighter the caliber of Alvarez, but given his extensive fighting experience and age advantage, Munguia should be ready to tangle with the champion.
In his career, the Mexican fighter has won a variety of championships. This includes a victory over Jose Carlos Paz for the vacant WBC Latino light middleweight title back in February 2018. After accruing a record of 28-0, he would then go on to challenge and defeat Sadam Ali for the WBO light middleweight title as well in September of that year. The champion would then of course go on to retain the belt in five different fights. After that, he won the WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title in October 2020 with a resounding victory over Tureano Johnson. Most recently, he notched the vacant WBC Silver super middleweight championship with a fantastic unanimous decision win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
Analysis: In what should be a very interesting fight, Alvarez has the advantage here, but there is some upset potential given Munguia’s powerful pedigree and resume. Of course, only two people have been able to knock off the champion and only one of those was in his division (Floyd Mayweather Jr.) so this will be a tough bout for the challenger for sure. That said, do not count out the rising star Munguia just yet.
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About the Author
As a devout aficionado of sports, Chris Boline has carved a career within the athletic realm. A skilled scribe, he boasts a decade-long portfolio that encompasses coverage of the NBA G League, the Los Angeles Chargers, football in the Mountain West Conference, and basketball. Beyond his professional pursuits, Chris is deeply invested in his community and dedicates his leisure hours to serving on boards, collaborating with community organizations, and cherishing the company of loved ones.
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