Canelo Alvarez vs Jaime Munguia was an easy fight to make, according to promoter
Undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez is preparing for his first Mexican opponent for seven years, as he aims to become the first man to defeat countryman Jaime Munguia. However, should he be unsuccessful, it appears that he will have the opportunity to win back his crown.
Canelo claimed the undisputed title with an 11th-round stoppage victory over Caleb Plant in 2021 and he has since defended his four belts on three occasions, each of which came after a second career loss when he stepped up to light-heavyweight and was outpointed by the masterful WBA ruler Dmitry Bivol.
Despite the successive victories at 168lbs, many fans still believe Alvarez to be on the slide, failing to knock out all three of those opponents, each of which he was tipped to stop beforehand.
As a result, there are plenty of eyes on Canelo during 2024, as fellow super-middleweight talents such as Munguia, David Benavidez and David Morrell are honing in on the ageing champion, and Alvarez will need an impressive performance to prove his doubters wrong in six weeks’ time.
In an interview with Boxing Scene, Munguia’s promoter Fernando Beltran explained how easy it was to agree the fight with a clearly motivated Canelo, with the only stipulation being a rematch clause should Munguia get the win or draw with the arguable ‘face of boxing’.
“As soon as Eddy [Reynoso] and I talked, the fight was easy to make – two Mexicans are easy to deal with. [The rematch] is the only clause in the contract, and only in the case if Jaime wins, or if there is a draw.”
Canelo-Munguia will take place on May 4th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with undercard details yet to be announced.