Canelo: Jaime Munguia “Has Earned This Fight”

By: Sean Crose

“Yes, I’ve said I don’t want to fight Mexican fighters,” the one and only Canelo Alvarez admitted Tuesday at a Beverly Hills press conference for his upcoming fight against the undefeated Jaime Munguia. “But someone respectful like Munguía, someone who has earned this fight, it’s something that I’m glad we were able to make happen.” Indeed, Canelo – who will be defending his undisputed super middleweight championship against Munguia this May fourth in Las Vegas, claimed the fight “is a great source of pride for me because it’s Mexico all over. I’m proud of Munguia to come all the way he has.”

Canelo is not only Mexico’s most popular fighter, he’s one of the greatest fighters to emerge from the legendary boxing nation. Still, Canelo is now viewed to be on the downside of his brilliant career. While only 33 years of age, the man has been a major ring attraction for over a decade, someone who has faced a laundry list of his peers. Floyd Mayweather, Gennady Golovkin, Miguel Cotto, and Sergey Kovalev are just a few of the top names the man has battled.

And now comes Mungia, a fellow Mexican with a thunderous punch and enough heart to to climb Everest. While Canelo will clearly be the favorite entering the ring this May, no one would call the 27 year old Munguia a tune up fight. The truth is that the match should contain a fair degree of action while it lasts. It’s not impossible to see this one going the distance, but there’s more than a pretty good chance that it won’t. Although boxing fans can be some of the more cynical fans in all of sports, no objective look at Canelo would lead one to believe he isn’t a man willing to take on all comers.

While there are those who say the red haired star wants no part of top contender David Benavidez at the moment, it’s worth remembering the same has been said about others Canelo has ended up facing – and besting. In the meantime, however, Canelo will have to focus on Munguia, a man willing to take on the best, as he himself has been.  “I want my legacy to be about making the greatest fights possible,” Munguia said at Tuesday’s press conference. “That’s what I want to continue doing – defend my belt and bring the greatest fights to the fans.”

Famed trainer Freddie Roach, who now trains Munguia, claimed Canelo-Munguia is “the biggest fight in the world right now.” That may be an overstatement – but really not much of one.