LAS VEGAS — A raucous, surprise support for Jaime Munguia was quickly snuffed out Saturday with Canelo Alvarez’s patented combination, a left hook and then a right uppercut, that knocked the challenger to the canvas for the first time in his 44 career fights.
Alvarez, boxing’s top star, continued to gain momentum after the fourth-round knockout and won the fight with his cleaner, sharper and more powerful shots, retaining the undisputed super middleweight championship in an all-Mexican battle on Cinco de Mayo over the weekend in front of 17,492 at the T-Mobile Arena.
Alvarez’s fourth successful defense of his four 168-pound titles was made official with scores of 115-113, 117-110 and 116-111. ESPN scored 118-109. It was the third fight in a row in which Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KO) suffered a knockdown. He also knocked out Jermell Charlo and John Ryder in decision victories last year.
“I’m very proud that all the Mexicans are here watching us,” said Alvarez, the No. 4 boxer in ESPN’s rankings. “…He’s a great fighter. He is powerful, he is astute. … But it’s a bit ponderous. I see every blow. Sometimes it hits me because I’m gaining confidence. … I did really well and I feel proud of it… I’m definitely the best fighter now.
Munguia, a former junior middleweight champion, was competing at an elite level for the first time. And he undoubtedly performed well. The 27-year-old from Tijuana fought with passion and showed a better jab in his second fight with Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach.
Munguia’s pressure and aggression were effective for the first two rounds, but Alvarez finally, as usual, felt his opponent at the right time. “I’m in no rush,” Alvarez said. “That’s why I have a lot of experience. … I had 12 rounds to win the fight and I did it.”
Munguia (43-1, 34 KO) won three rounds unanimously: the first frame and rounds 3 and 9. He boxed well, but his punches never seemed to have enough power to earn Alvarez’s respect.
Even as Munguia pinned Alvarez to the ropes and unloaded his gun, Alvarez was able to avoid most of these punches and then land a single shot that supported the challenger. Then came the round 4 knockdown and it seemed Munguia’s legs never recovered. The difference in experience was also clear, as Alvarez was a first-ballot Hall of Famer who shared the ring with virtually every top name at his weight during his career.
“I came out powerful and won the first rounds,” Munguia said through a translator. “I let go, but he is a player with a lot of experience. This loss hurts because it’s my first loss and I felt powerful. There is no doubt that I would have beaten anyone else tonight. … He is a player who creates an atmosphere of many problems.”
Down the stretch, Alvarez was able to stun Munguia several times, turning his aggression against him. Alvarez’s elite counter-attacking ability, more powerful punches and evasive ability were too much for Munguia to overcome. But all is not lost.
Alvarez, 33, credits the first loss of his career – a defeat to Floyd Mayweather in 2013 as a 20-year-old – as a performance that helped shape him into an all-time great fighter.
Munguia, ESPN’s fourth super middleweight, entered the ring coming off his career-best win, a ninth-round TKO of Ryder in January. Munguia’s previous performance was named the 2023 Fight of the Year by ESPN, a fight against Sergiy Derevyanchenko in which a last-round knockdown earned Munguia the decision.
Alvarez hasn’t finished a fight at the distance since he defeated Caleb Plant in November 2021 to become the undisputed super middleweight champion.
“I’m glad I gave him this opportunity,” said Guadalajara’s Alvarez, who closed out the match as a minus-550 favorite on ESPN BET. “Munguia is a great guy and a great champion. He has a great career ahead of him.”
The promotion was overshadowed by a renewed feud between Alvarez and his former longtime promoter, Hall of Fame boxer Oscar De La Hoya. For the first time since November 2019, Alvarez and De La Hoya, Munguia’s co-promoter, shared the stage during fight week, and Wednesday’s press conference erupted as time did little to heal elderly wounds.
De La Hoya took aim at Alvarez and mentioned his failed drug test before his 2018 rematch with Gennady Golovkin. Alvarez responded that De La Hoya was stealing from fighters and referred to GGG, who sued Oscar’s Golden Boy Promotions in 2022, demanding more than $3 million that he believed was owed from that rematch.
De La Hoya told ESPN that GGG had been paid every dollar owed to him, and the next day he sent Alvarez a cease-and-desist letter demanding that he withdraw his “defamatory allegations.”
Alvarez’s attorney, Gregory M. Smith, told ESPN that Alvarez “said what he said.”
Alvarez admitted that he was more determined to win after the proceedings were over, and although he didn’t finish Munguia in the distance, he did win once again in dominant fashion.
“I always said [Canelo is] he’s a good fighter in the ring, but this experience for Jaime will just take him to another level,” De La Hoya said. “It’s just like Mayweather and Canelo. … Canelo won the school and then became the face of boxing.
Now, calls for Alvarez to fight David Benavidez will return once again as Alvarez prepares for his expected return on Mexican Independence Day weekend in September.
“If the money is right… I can fight [Benavidez] right now,” Alvarez said. “I do not care. At this point it’s just a matter of money. Everyone asks for everything.
“When I was fighting [Erislandy] Lara, Austin Trout, Miguel Angel Cotto, [Floyd] Mayweather, Billy Joe Saunders, GGG, they all said I didn’t want to fight them, and I fought them all. So now… I can do whatever I want.
It was Alvarez’s first fight against another Mexican since defeating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in May 2017 and his seventh main event fight on Cinco de Mayo weekend. Canelo has won four straight fights since moving up to 175 pounds in May 2022 following a decision loss to Dmitry Bivol.
The World Boxing Council (WBC) ordered world cruiserweight champion Badou “The Ripper” Jack (20-1-1, 19 KO) to make a mandatory title defense against Ryan “The Bruiser” Rozicki (20-1), number 1 in the WBC ranking – 1, 19 KOs).
If both camps fail to successfully negotiate an agreement, the WBC will organize a tender on February 4, followed by the Jack vs. Rozicki. Rozicki’s promoter, Three Lions Promotions, immediately sent Team Jacek an offer to promote the fight in Canada last week.
“We are waiting for their counteroffer,” explained promoter Dan Otter of Three Lions Promotions. “Boxing has had a huge resurgence in Canada and Ryan is leading the way. He is one of the most electrifying and hardest-hitting fighters in boxing, definitely in the cruiserweight division. He wants the WBC green belt and ultimately the unification of the division. Ryan will fight Jack anywhere for the belt.”
29-year-old Rozicki, born in Sydney (Nova Scotia) and living in Hamilton (Ontario), fought 22 professional fights against 21 different opponents (twice against Yamil Alberto Peralta), stopping 19 of the 20 opponents he defeated. an eye-opening 95-KO percentage.
Jack, 41, was a 2008 Olympian representing his native Sweden. He is a three-division world champion, as well as the WBC super middleweight and World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight heavyweight title holder. Jack has a record of 5-0-2 (2 KO) in world championship fights.
“We respect Jack and I don’t want to sound disrespectful,” Otter added, “but he’s over 40 years vintage and has been relatively inactive for two years (only one fight). He brings a lot of experience and respect to the ring, but he will fight a newborn defender with a lot of power. Jack is going to struggle and honestly, I don’t think he’ll make it past the first few rounds.”
Ryan Rozicki is on a mission to become the first Canadian cruiserweight world champion.
Floyd Mayweather’s incredible 50-0 record is not normal and cannot be repeated in sports for another seventy years.
This is the view of Saudi Arabian president Turki Alalshikh, who wants to adopt the UFC model in which fighters lose many fights during their career.
In a speech as he hosted the Ring Magazine Awards after acquiring the long-running boxing publication from Oscar De La Hoya, Alalshikh was unequivocal in his opinion.
“Now losing some fights in boxing must be normal,” he explained. “All fighters want a career similar to Floyd Mayweather – no losses. This may happen once every 50, 60 or 70 years.
“We need it [to be] like currently in the UFC model, where champions lose and win,” added the matchmaker during the Riyad season.
Mayweather rose through the sport in the tardy 1990s to become one of its youngest superstars. Mayweather’s professional success came after winning a bronze medal at the Olympics after losing to Serafim Todorov.
Winning world titles in five weight classes, Mayweather was untouchable. The Grand Rapids native only came close to defeat a few times. He dominated Manny Pacquiao and overtook Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya after heated debates, with decisions that should have been made unanimously.
Towards the end of his career, Mayweather chose to face Andre Berto and Conor McGregor, easily winning and ending his boxing career at the age of 50 without ever going out. Calling himself “the greatest of all time,” Mayweather earned first-ballot Hall of Fame honors and is widely considered one of, if not the greatest defensive fighter of all time.
However, Alalshikh says this type of career needs to end so that fans can get the most out of boxing, as is the case with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Boxing needs to become more attractive, and Alalshikh sees the failures of top stars as a way to keep interest at an all-time high.
In this sport, many boxers enjoy undefeated streaks, the most notable of which is Oleksandr Usyk. The Ukrainian Pound for Pound King is 23-0 and has beaten the best he has to offer in his division and cruiserweight classification.
It remains a mystery how Alalshikh plans to make Usyk suffer while he dominates everyone else. By the time his grand plan goes into action, Usyk will be long gone, and Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney may be more realistic targets.
WBN understands that despite alternative options emerging, it is more likely that Manny Pacquiao will face Mario Barrios next.
Bob Santos, coach of WBC welterweight champion Barrios, told World Boxing News that he is currently in contact with Pacquiao’s team. Asked by WBN if he had spoken to Pacquiao or representatives of any other challenger, Santos replied: “Yes, Pacquiao’s promoter, Sean Gibbons.” Pressed on whether Barrios vs Pacquiao might happen next, he added: “It’s challenging to say. We’ll have to see how this plays out.”
WBN contacted Santos after Conor Benn emerged as a potential alternative to Barrios. The British fighter, who recently returned from a suspension following two positive drug tests, is keen to return to competition.
Benn showed favor with the World Boxing Council at the recent WBC Convention, the WBC Evaluation Committee and during an interview with the sanctioning body over the weekend. “The Destroyer” is ranked second in the rankings at 147 pounds, despite less than solid opponents during his time in exile, during which Benn competed twice in the United States while his career in the United Kingdom was in doubt.
As he battled to clear his name and with the British Anti-Doping Authority finding no evidence that Benn had intentionally taken ostarine, the 28-year-old’s career took a pointed nosedive. Despite this, he remains highly rated and at least one step away from fighting for an eliminator or one of the remaining championship titles.
However, Pacquiao remains Barrios’ favorite. Now it’s up to the boxing legend and Hall of Famer who got the first votes to secure his shot. WBN believes a July date – most likely at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas – is the most realistic date for a Nevada swan song.
Pacquiao could extend his record as the oldest welterweight champion by six years if he can secure a huge victory over the 29-year-old world champion. At 46 years antique, such a scenario remains unlikely, but he can never be compared to one of the greatest players of this generation.
Unlike heavier boxers and his training regiment, Pacquiao looks in great shape despite his advanced age. Everything is set for a massive return to the boxing capital of the world, provided Pacquiao and his team can manage his political ambitions, which are expected to run from this month until May. After that time, Pacquiao could find himself in the summer finals and become the all-time champion, regardless of the result.
Barrios is based in the city, where he trained with Santos, and would be the perfect opponent to see out the career of one of the greatest fighters in history.
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