Boxing
Canelo Alvarez names a player he thinks could take his place when he retires
Published
1 hour agoon
Canelo Alvarez named the fighter he believes most deserves a moment of passing the torch, perhaps not in the ring, but rather in a non-fight sense.
As a fan of fighters from his home country, the 35-year-old can’t wait to see who emerges as the next face of Mexican boxing.
Many would still consider Canelo the leading star in Mexican boxing even if his next fight is against WBC super middleweight world champion Christian Mbillawill take place on September 12 in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, David Benavidez is widely expected to be a key player on Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day weekends, especially given his stellar performance against Gilberto Ramirez earlier this month.
But instead of highlighting Benavidez as the man to follow in his footsteps, Canelo suggested that Jaime Munguia deserves to inherit his metaphorical torch.
Munguia lost a unanimous decision to Alvarez in 2024, but has since teamed up with his compatriot, training under head coach Eddy Reynoso.
This partnership proved particularly successful earlier this month when the 29-year-old became a two-weight world champion, unanimously defeating and dethroning Armando Resendiz to win the WBA super middleweight belt.
While talking to Ring MagazineCanelo stressed that his stablemate is a worthy candidate to take up his torch.
“I would like to pass the torch to Munguia. Why not? He has learned a lot [under Reynoso]. He works very rigid and is a very good guy, so he deserves everything.
While Munguia may have been a hard-working athlete, it certainly raised eyebrows when Munguia tested positive for drugs last year and was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing by the relevant governing and sanctioning bodies.
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Most Valuable Promotions returns to ESPN on Saturday night with MVPW-03, a twelve-fight card at the El Paso County Coliseum built around four women’s title fights and led by a double main event: WBA lightweight champion Stephanie Han against Holly Holm in a rematch and unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano against German Cheyenne Hanson. The main card begins at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. Preliminary bouts will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Him vs. Holm 2
Stephanie Han (12-0, 3 KO) will defend her WBA lightweight title against Holly Holm (34-3-3, 9 KO) over ten three-minute rounds. The fight is being fought on the same principles of equal opportunity that both sides applied during their first meeting on January 3 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The fight ended in the seventh round after an accidental clash of heads resulted in a cut to Han’s eye, which the ringside doctor deemed too earnest to continue. Han received a technical decision with scores of 69-65, 69-64 and 68-65 for Most Valuable Promotions. Holm immediately demanded a rematch, and Han’s promoter agreed.
Han is 35 years elderly, from El Paso, and a full-time police officer who turned professional in 2021. She won the WBA belt after a first-round knockout of Hannah Terlep in February 2025 and is starting her third defense. Holm, 44, of Albuquerque, returned to boxing in June after a twelve-year absence spent in mixed martial arts, where she won the UFC women’s bantamweight title in 2015 by defeating Ronda Rousey. Holm stopped Yolanda Vega in her return to boxing last year under the Jake Paul-Julio César Chávez Jr. card. Saturday’s victory will give her the world champion title in the fourth weight category.
You can read Boxing Insider’s coverage of the first fight in Puerto Rico here.
As Holm enters fight week, the Ronda Rousey storyline is circulating again. Rousey returned to competition on May 16 at the first MVP event and submitted Gina Carano in 17 seconds, after which she announced that she was withdrawing from the competition. When asked about chatting about a rematch, Holm said MMA fight: “I highly doubt she’ll ever want a rematch. I’ve always said since the last fight that I would always have a rematch with her. It was always available.” Holm added: “The reason it was so critical to beat her was because she was so dominant. I have all the respect for her.”
Serrano vs. Hanson
Amanda Serrano (48-4-1, 31 KO) will defend her WBA and WBO featherweight titles against German Cheyenne “Pepper” Hanson (17-2, 13 KO) over ten three-minute rounds. This is Hanson’s first world title fight. He’s starting a nine-game winning streak with seven stoppages Illustrated sports.
Serrano will pick up a unanimous decision victory over Reina Tellez on Jan. 3 in San Juan, on the same card that produced Han-Holm 1. She said KTSM in El Paso that the booking was a return of the favor. “Listen, I didn’t think twice when I found out Stephanie Han had a rematch with Holly in El Paso,” Serrano said. “They came and opened up for me. It was my second main event in Puerto Rico, in my hometown, so it was a huge honor for me that they could share that night with me. I thought, what? They’re coming back in a rematch from El Paso, I need to be on this card. Please let me in. And they did.”
The rest of the main card
Two additional world title fights open the four-fight ESPN broadcast.
Australian Desley Robinson (11-3, 4 KO) will defend her IBF and WBO middleweight titles against Mary Spencer (10-3, 6 KO) of Ontario, Canada in a ten-round 160-pound fight. Spencer is a former WBA junior middleweight world champion.
Mexican Lourdes “La Pequeña Lulu” Juarez (39-4, 5 KO) will defend her WBC junior flyweight title against Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle (34-3, 10 KO) over ten rounds. Valle, a three-division world champion, won her seventh world title with the victory.
Introductory card
The undercard, streaming on ESPN+ from 3:30 p.m. ET, features ten fights with a mix of men’s and women’s fights:
- Yesica Nery Plata (30-3, 3 KO) vs. Brook Sibrian (9-2, 4 KO), eight rounds, lightweight
- Reina Tellez (13-1-1, 5 KO) vs. Juliana Basualdo (14-7, 3 KO), eight rounds, featherweight
- Miranda Reyes (8-3-1, 3 KO) vs. Camilla Panatta (8-3-1, 1 KO), eight rounds, super featherweight
- Jocelyn Camarillo (6-0, 1 KO) vs. Yazmin Martinez (3-3-2, 1 KO)
- Iyana Verduzco (7-0, 1 KO) vs. TBA
- Elise Soto (10-0, 9 KO) vs. Thalia Joseline Limon (4-1, 3 KO)
- Alexis Chaparro (7-0, 6 KO) vs. Edward Ulloa (15-7, 12 KO)
- Alexander Gueche (11-0, 7 KO) vs. Joshua Montoya (7-4-2)
- Nazarena Romero (14-1-2, 8 KO) vs. Maria Salinas (27-14-6, 7 KOs)
- Albina Moldazhanova (3-0, 3 KO) vs. Claudia Herrera (5-6-1, 2 KO)
How to watch
Main card: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, streaming on ESPN Select and ESPN Unlimited, at Yahoo Sports. Preliminary card: 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The official weigh-in will take place on Friday at 6 p.m. MT at the El Paso County Coliseum and will be streamed on MVP’s YouTube channel and ESPN+.
Former world title challenger Spencer Oliver believes Hamzah Sheeraz will beat Canelo Alvarez if the two meet next year, arguing that age and time are starting to work against the Mexican star.
Sheeraz won the WBO super middleweight title last Saturday with a dominant victory over Al Begic, which immediately sparked fresh discussion about a future showdown with Canelo. During a boxing discussion this week, Oliver said he would prefer Sheeraz if the fight took place in England.
“I bet that Hamzah will beat him,” Oliver said in an interview with Sport Boxing. “I think when you look at it, there’s a decline with Canelo Alvarez. I think we’ve seen that. The punching power is increasing now with every single shot and everything. Hamzah Sheeraz is going through it.
“I think when and if this fight happens, each month that goes by will favor Hamzah Sheeraz more and more. I think it’s all about the timing of this fight. I think that could happen. Sheeraz wins it.”
Oliver wasn’t alone in supporting Sheeraz. The panel discussion focused on whether Canelo is entering the final stage of his career and whether younger fighters are coming into the ring at the right time.
The Sheeraz-Canelo fight remains speculation. Canelo is scheduled to defend his super middleweight title against Christian Mbilla on September 12, and Sheeraz is expected to begin exploring his options as the newly crowned world champion.
The September fight may answer some of the questions posed by Oliver. Canelo has won several of his last fights, but critics pointed to periods of less activity in the second half of fights against opponents such as Dmitry Bivol, Gennadiy Golovkin, Jaime Munguia, Edgar Berlanga and Terence Crawford.
If Canelo convincingly defeats Mbilli, calls for a fight with Sheeraz will likely become louder. If he struggles or loses, the conversation may look very different at the end of the year.

Olly Campbell is a boxing journalist covering this sport since 2014, providing reports from the ring and technical analyzes of the most vital fights. His work focuses on fighter tendencies, tactical adjustments and the details that shape high-level competition.
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Last updated: 29/05/2026 at 11:03
Boxing
Fran Hennessy continues to dream of surpassing Fundora as the youngest undisputed champion
Published
7 hours agoon
May 29, 2026
Despite being just 21 years senior and having made just eight professional appearances, Fran Hennessy hopes to become the undisputed champion within the next 12 months.
Such a feat would overshadow the phenomenal achievement of Gabriela Fundora, who became the youngest player in history, either male or female, to hold all four major titles simultaneously.
She did so at the age of 22 in November 2024, giving Hennessy about a year to make history by dethroning bantamweight queen Cherneka Johnson.
As the mandatory challenger for the WBC 118-pound title, Hennessy fully expects to face Johnson before their fight is ordered.
By then, however, the undefeated challenger described Aurora De Persio as an “ideal opponent” to continue to actively fight at London’s Wembley Arena and who will feature in Adam Azim’s match against Steve Claggett on Saturday.
Speaking to Boxing News, among others, Hennessy also said she suspects potential rival “Sugar Neekz” has an unofficial date on the diary.
“I think Cherneka already has a fight lined up… but we will definitely push for that fight to happen. I would love to become the youngest ever undisputed world champion.
“In the meantime – until this fight is over – I want to be busy and I feel Aurora is the perfect opponent for that.
Both I and my team believe in this [a WBC title shot might come] at the end of this year or the beginning of next year. All I know is that when this fight is called, I will be ready – and I will take it with both hands.
“If Czerneka keeps all the lanes, and I’m sure he will, I will do it [mandated] fight for everyone [four] of them.”
Entering his third fight on the BBC, Hennessy is out majority vote victory over Ellie Bouttell in January when she was suddenly elevated to the main event after a failed showdown with Azim.
She says this experience only strengthened her self-confidence and growth as it not only involved the pressure of headlining Boxxer, but also forced her to overcome a tough night’s work.
“It was amazing, it was a great fight, it was a dogfight that I’m glad I was involved in. I experienced different things in this last fight.
“I came out and normally I was just cheering, but it was also a great experience.
“I was very nervous and I think it had to do with being a headliner for the first time. I haven’t experienced this before and I’m only 21, but now I’ve learned to deal with it all calmly.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself then, but now I’m just a joyful player.”
Already on the verge of a world title shot, perhaps even an undisputed crown, Hennessy certainly subscribes to the senior adage that a “joyful fighter” means a “unsafe fighter” capable of defeating a top-class opponent like Johnson.
Canelo Alvarez names a player he thinks could take his place when he retires
Han-Holm 2, heading Serrano-Hanson MVPW-03 in El Paso
Hamzah Sheeraz expected to beat Canelo Alvarez
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