The crown on Canelo Alvarez’s head is as snug as ever.
“I am the best fighter right now, for sure,” the 33-year-old living legend said after his dominant unanimous decision victory over Jaime Munguía to defend both his undisputed super middleweight title and his reputation as the greatest Mexican boxer alive.
In what was billed by some to be a potential passing of the torch, the 27-year-old Munguía couldn’t use his explosive power to steal Alvarez’s thunder, whose grip on that torch was as tight as ever on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
If anything, Alvarez showed his heightened in-ring IQ coupled with his crisp counterpunching made him even more dangerous than ever.
“I take my time, that’s why I have a lot of experience. … I take my time, I have 12 rounds to win a fight and I did,” Alvarez said after the fight. “I feel good about it.”
After the hulking and powerful Munguía promised fireworks with his early aggression, Alvarez caught the youngster with a blinding left hook-right uppercut combo in the fourth round that floored Munguía. It was his first career knockdown.
CANELO GETS A HUGE KNOCKDOWN #CaneloMunguia pic.twitter.com/flzfgn4Giv
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) May 5, 2024
The knockdown came after Munguía opened the bout with early flurries weaponizing his long jabs and trademark brash style. But Alvarez needed only a couple of rounds to find his precision and break the younger boxer apart with the knockdown.
From there, Alvarez stunted every ounce of Munguía’s momentum with continual crushing countershots. Alvarez went head knocking with power jabs one round, buckled Munguía with a 1-2 combo the next round, then changed Munguía’s entire posture with a vicious body hook a minute later.
Munguía never shelled up or let his adoration of his country’s legend lull him into complacency, swinging for the knockout through the 12th round. But Canelo’s poise also never flinched, even as the two stood toe-to-toe in the center of the ring.
After the fight, Alvarez said he was glad he gave Munguía the shot. Munguía said he believed he would have beaten any other boxer with his performance.
The victory marked Alvarez’s fourth defense of the super middleweight title, and he improves his career record to 61-2-2. He became the first undisputed super middleweight champ in 2021 with his TKO of Caleb Plant.
Munguía’s record received its first scuff with the loss, dropping to 43-1.
Saturday marked the 10th time Alvarez has fought around Cinco De Mayo weekend, and boosted his record to 9-1 on his native country’s holiday.
Much of the drama entering Saturday wasn’t from the pair of boxers, as the younger Munguía showed regular reverence for the legend Alvarez, but rather between Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya. The bout’s buildup represented a boiling point in the pair’s simmering rivalry, as legend-turned-promoter De La Hoya shared a stage with his former protégé for the first time since Alvarez split from Golden Boy Promotions in 2020.
Things got particularly heated at a Wednesday news conference, when De La Hoya said Golden Boy Promotions built Alvarez.
“The company you fought under for decades has one name, and it’s mine. So put some f—— respect on it,” De La Hoya barked while looking at Alvarez. “As for Jaime, he has always dared to be great, just as he will be Saturday night.”
At that point, Alvarez chirped back at the Hall of Famer. Standing up and yelling in Spanish, Alvarez later said fellow boxers should “contact your lawyers because (De La Hoya) is surely stealing from you. It’s the only thing he comes to do in boxing. … If I hadn’t involved my lawyers, you would steal from me.”
On Thursday, De La Hoya followed up that allegation with a legal letter demanding Alvarez retract his “defamatory” claims, according to a letter obtained by ESPN.
But come Saturday night, the war of words was replaced by the exchange of jabs, and Alvarez proved to the world why his name is still the biggest draw in the sport.
From the mariachi band’s rendition of the U.S. national anthem before the main event to Munguía’s fearless march forward in the first round, Saturday night’s exchange felt bigger and the crowd showered the boxers with their appreciation.
Prior to the main event, the Vegas crowd who arrived in time for the co-main event was largely lulled to sleep. Mario Barrios defeated Fabian Maidana via unanimous decision in a bout that featured few notable moments and few notable punches after a knockdown in the third round. Barrios defended his interim title in the process.
(Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
