Who wins Saul Canelo Alvarez vs Jaime Munguia undisputed super-middleweight showdown?
This year’s Cinco De Mayo weekend will see an all-Mexican showdown on Saturday, May 4, at the T-Mobile Arena between Saul Canelo Alvarez (60-2-2, 39KO) and unbeaten challenger Jaime Munguia (43-0, 34KO) for the undisputed super-middleweight championship, in a PBC Pay-Per-View on Prime Video.
Despite being the heavy favourite, Alvarez was unable to stop brave Brit John Ryder on last year’s Mexican holiday, whereas 27-year-old Munguia was able send the Londoner into retirement with a ninth-round TKO.
Canelo has the experience up at the highest level, but Munguia is young hungry and confident – will that be enough to dethrone the P4P Mexican megastar?
BBN referred to their trusted panel of experts for their experienced outlook on the undisputed action.
Abel SanchezWorld champion trainer: “Should be a good, active fight. I think it will be a replay of Mayweather vs Canelo, with Canelo being in the Mayweather role.
“Munguia will gain immeasurable experience for his future fights, Freddie [Roach] will make a big difference in Munguia, but it will not be enough – too soon in the trainer/fighter association.”
Wayne AlexanderFormer British, European, World champion: “Canelo vs Munguia is an interesting fight, a Alvarez is a modern great and future Hall of Famer, who has mixed it with some of the best fighters over the last decade from light-middleweight to light-heavyweight, but he does look to be on the downwards slide a bit and is fighting Munguia who is unbeaten, younger, fresher, and looked very good in beating Sergiy Derevyanchenko and John Ryder.
“I think Canelo’s greater experience and ring lQ will get him a points decision victory in a entertaining all-action fight.”
Steve WoodVIP Promotions: “Actually see this as a much closer fight than the bookies, but do favour Canelo.
“Youth and workrate is with Munguia, but think the experience of Canelo will help him find the clean shots that will make a difference, I expect a good fight though.”
Arijan GorickiIBO title contender: “My prediction is Canelo by UD. I think that all the pressure will be on Munguia and he will not be able to perform as well he can.”
Tim RicksonBBN Editor: “Despite the lack of hype surrounding this fight, I can envisage it being a fight of the year contender. How can it not be when it’s involving two Mexicans fighting for an undisputed championship on Cinco De Mayo?
“I think Munguia is criminally underrated going into the biggest fight of his career, with Freddie Roach in his corner, against a 33-year-old, 64-fight veteran. He has a lot of variables in his favour.
“I’m sure this contest has to involve a few shootouts, I hope it will be packed full of action. My instinct is that Alvarez wins on points.”
Marshall KauffmanKing’s Promotions: “I think this will be a great fight between two Mexican warriors.
“I think that Munguia has a great chance to outhustle Canelo, but I must go with the more experienced Canelo by a close decision on Saturday.”
Ben WinwardBBN Writer: “This is a decent yet slightly uninspiring choice of opponent for Canelo, basically down to the fact that it is not David Benavidez. This isn’t the fault of Jaime Munguia, who, after coming off back-to-back wins over Sergiy Derevyanchenko and John Ryder, has shown genuine improvements and managed to build a solid resume of his own.
“I think the issue in generating interest in this fight is that the eventual victor really does seem a foregone conclusion. It is just the manner of victory that fans and pundits are debating.
“For Munguia, I believe he will look to employ a ferocious and uncomfortable tempo from the start, as he always does, with the hope he is catching the aging Canelo at the right time. With this comes great risk, however, as against the Mexican legend he is facing one of the best in the business at picking and timing his power shots on the inside.
“I believe one of the biggest questions in determining how and when this fight will end is how Munguia’s chin holds up. Thus far in his career Munguia’s chin has looked solid, however this has mainly been between 154-160lbs, with Derevyanchenko and Ryder at 167lb’s not having anywhere near the same fire power as the undisputed champ.
“It will also be interesting to see if Canelo fights fire with fire from the off or looks to weather the early storm. Sooner or later however the spiteful back and forth exchanges synonymous with some of the epic Mexican battles of years gone by seem inevitable. During these exchanges I just see Canelo’s defence, shot selection and counters being far superior to Munguia’s more swarming style attacks and leading to the unbeaten challenger walking into something.
“If Munguia’s chin doesn’t wilt under one of Canelo’s signature bombs, I believe it will at least force him to doubt his attacks and go into more of a shell, allowing the pound for pound star to take control of the pace of the fight as the rounds go on, something he is excellent at.
“Overall I see this fight giving us a fun and competitive first few rounds where Munguia will give it a real go, with Canelo taking over comfortably as his output fades. If Munguia does indeed have a granite chin, I think it will be a wide decision victory for Canelo. Even with a great chin however, given his defensive recklessness I still envision Canelo will manage to get the stoppage in the mid to late rounds.”
Burim SylejmaniFides Sports promoter: “This is a very good fight and it will be very exciting. I think Canelo will win.”
Sam CondyBBN Writer: “Munguia is a young exciting fighter. Though, I think his entertainment factor may be his downfall. He loves to throw wild combinations and in the process, opens himself up for punishment.
“It may have worked for him so far; however, I think Canelo will be too smart for him, and too patient. Alvarez’s experience will win him the fight He may not be as fast and as athletic as he used to be, but he will wait his turn and pick his shots carefully.
“I predict it will appear to be a close fight, but Canelo’s shots will begin to add up as they reach the later rounds, leading to a late stoppage and another victory at 168 lbs.”
