Month: May 2024

In what was his best performance in years, Canelo Alvarez retained the undisputed super middleweight championship by posting a 12-round unanimous decision over Jaime Munguia at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The official scores were 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112.

Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) decked Munguia with a brilliant right uppercut in round four. The challenger had boxed very well up to that point, but he was guilty of leaving gaps, and a sharpshooter like Canelo doesn’t need a second invitation. That moment turned the fight and the champ was largely dominant thereafter.

“[Winning this fight] means a lot,” said Canelo during his post-fight interview with Prime Video. “I’m glad to give Jaime this opportunity. He’s a great guy, a great champion and he’s going to continue doing good. Viva Mexico!

“I took my time [in the fight]. I have a lot of experience. Jaime Munguia is a great fighter; very strong, very smart, but I have 12 rounds to win. I did really good and I feel proud about it. I’m the best fighter right now, for sure.”

Munguia boxed a disciplined fight early, jabbing at Canelo, moving his head and finding distance after each burst. However, the champion was merely taking notes and doing reconnaissance and one sensed that his moment was coming.

Prematurely bolstered by his success, Munguia became too ambitious and suddenly paid the price. With his weight over his front foot, he was nailed by a spectacular right uppercut and went down hard. A lesser man may have stayed down, but Munguia has plenty of fighting guts.

From rounds five through twelve, Canelo won almost every session. Munguia lost his shape and became more and more open to the left hook to head and body. He did well to stay upright and made some gutsy charges late in the fight, but it wasn’t enough.

With one Mexican fighter down, attention quickly turned to Canelo’s plans for the future, which fans hope will include Mexican-American David Benavidez.

“I don’t know right now. I’m going to rest and enjoy my family,” said Canelo as the crowd began to boo. “But if the money is right, I’ll make the call. If the money is right, I don’t give a s___!

“Everybody asks for everything, right? When I fought [Erislandy] Lara, [Miguel] Cotto, [Floyd] Mayweather, [Billy Joe] Saunders, they said I didn’t want to fight them. I fought all of them. Right now, I can do whatever I want.”

That has been the mantra in recent weeks, so fans are advised not to hold their breath.

Munguia loses for the first time in 44 starts. He’s only 27 years old and has plenty of time to come again.

The Sporting News provided live coverage from the full card in Las Vegas and round-by-round scoring for the main event.

Canelo Alvarez vs Jaime Munguia live updates, highlights, and commentary

AND STILL THE UNDISPUTED SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD… CANELO ALVAREZ. MEXICAN WARRIOR CLAIMS 12-ROUND UNANIMOUS DECISION (117-110, 116-111, 115-112)

Canelo Alvarez vs. Jaime Munguia: SN live scorecard

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
Canelo	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	9	10	10	10	116
Munguia	10	10	10	8	9	9	9	9	10	9	9	9	111

Round 12: As he’s done for most of the night, Canelo is standing with Munguia and threading home the counters. Blood flows from Munguia’s mouth as he advances into the storm of leather. Big right from Munguia and Canelo smiles. BIG SHOT from Canelo. Two big shots by Canelo on the bell.

SN Unofficial Scoring: 10-9 Canelo (116-111)

Round 11: Canelo is nice and relaxed, popping

In what was his best performance in years, Canelo Alvarez retained the undisputed super middleweight championship by posting a 12-round unanimous decision over Jaime Munguia at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The official scores were 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112.

Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) decked Munguia with a brilliant right uppercut in round four. The challenger had boxed very well up to that point, but he was guilty of leaving gaps, and a sharpshooter like Canelo doesn’t need a second invitation. That moment turned the fight and the champ was largely dominant thereafter.

“[Winning this fight] means a lot,” said Canelo during his post-fight interview with Prime Video. “I’m glad to give Jaime this opportunity. He’s a great guy, a great champion and he’s going to continue doing good. Viva Mexico!

MORE: Canelo vs. Munguia round-by-round commentary and highlights

“I took my time [in the fight]. I have a lot of experience. Jaime Munguia is a great fighter; very strong, very smart, but I have 12 rounds to win. I did really good and I feel proud about it. I’m the best fighter right now, for sure.”

Munguia boxed a disciplined fight early, jabbing at Canelo, moving his head and finding distance after

Ethan Miller / Getty Images

A critical look at the past week in boxing

BIGGEST WINNER
Canelo Alvarez

Alvarez probably isn’t the best fighter in the world pound-for-pound, as he suggested after his one-sided decision over Jaime Munguia on Saturday in Las Vegas. That nod goes to Terence Crawford (Boxing Junkie’s No. 1) or Naoya Inoue these days.

The 33-year-old Mexican star is making a strong case that news of his decline is premature, however.

Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) looked like a fading fighter in his loss to Dmitry Bivol in 2022 and sluggish victories over Gennadiy Golovkin and John Ryder that followed. He looked a lot more like the old sharpshooting Alvarez in decisions over Jermell Charlo and now Munguia.

What was the difference? He’s healthy. His surgically repaired left wrist, which dogged him through is worst performances, is now 100%.

He certainly looked to be near his best against Munguia, who unloaded a lot of punches but couldn’t pierce Alvarez’s secure defense consistently enough to make the fight close. And Alvarez, who throws fewer punches but makes them count, landed almost at will. He landed 49.7% of his power punches, according to CompuBox.

The result was arguably Alvarez’s best performance since he dominated Callum Smith in 2020, one that certainly maintains his membership in the exclusive pound-for-pound club.

However, it’s important not to get carried away. Impressive victories over Charlo and Munguia carry limited weight because the former moved up two divisions for the fight and Munguia is still developing. Even Alvarez alluded to a glaring weakness on the part of the latter after the fight.

“He’s strong, but he’s a little slow. I can see every punch [coming],” Alvarez said.

Alvarez has one obvious way of proving beyond doubt that he is the same fighter who climbed to the top of many pound-for-pound lists and remained there for years: Beating David Benavidez, a formidable fighter many believe he has been ducking.

He was asked again after his victory over Munguia whether he’d be willing to finally face Benavidez, who is scheduled to take on Oleksandr Gvozdyk at 175 pounds on June 15.

Alvarez made it clear that he would do so if the money is right, meaning he demands that his payday be commensurate with the risk

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez handed Jaime Munguia the first defeat of his career after securing a convincing unanimous decision in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Alvarez, who received scores of 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112 from the three judges to seal the win, sent his opponent to the canvas in the fourth round, the first knock-down of Munguia’s career.

Victory takes the 33-year-old Mexican’s record to 61-2-2 in what was his first fight since defeating American Jermell Charlo last year. It was the fourth time Alvarez has defended his WBC, WBO, IBF and WBA super-middleweight titles.

And the clamour is now once again growing for Alvarez to take on unbeaten countryman David Benavidez, although he has previously insisted that the 27-year-old, who has won 24 of his 28 fight by knockouts, “brings nothing to the table”.

After his victory in front of more than 17,000 fans at the T-Mobile Arena on Cinco de Mayo weekend, Alvarez was again asked whether a fight with Benavidez – a three-time WBC super-middleweight world champion who will step up to light-heavyweight next month – is on the cards.

“If the money’s right … I can fight [Benavidez] right now,” he insisted. “I don’t give a s***. It’s only a matter of money at this point. Everybod

NEW YORK — Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, controls the biggest purse strings in boxing and said he plans to use that power to fix a sport he told ESPN is “broken.”

The exclusive interview took place last month following the formal announcement of Alalshikh’s first boxing event outside Saudi Arabia, a stacked card headlined by ESPN’s No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer, Terence Crawford, challenging Israil Madrimov for the WBA junior middleweight title on Aug. 3 in Los Angeles. Alalshikh laid out his plans for boxing and detailed an upcoming slate of star-studded cards.

Crawford vs. Madrimov is presented by Riyadh Season — an annual state-managed sports and entertainment festival that attracts sponsorships from some of the region’s most prominent companies — which kicks off in October in Saudi Arabia’s capital. The title fight is poised to showcase the kingdom’s commitment to the sort of promotion, pomp and circumstance Alalshikh believes has been largely missing from boxing.

“We carefully planned our activities for the last six months,” Alalshikh said. “We are spending the money to [commercialize] our season and at the same time to test the market and know all the secrets about the market. And now we have a lot of information and we have our own studies and we think from what we tested in the last six months, there is big opportunity in boxing. … But you must improve the market. You must fix all the problems.”

Alalshikh has looked to restore that prestige with the sort of deep, competitive undercards that are commonplace in the UFC but rare in boxing. The Aug. 3 card might feature the deepest support of undercard fights in years.

Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz defends his WBA junior welterweight title vs. Jose Valenzuela in the co-feature while Tim Tszyu fights Vergil Ortiz Jr. in a slugfest between two of ESPN’s top junior middleweights. A pair of former heavyweight champions are also slated to compete: Deontay Wilder vs. undefeated Jared Anderson along with Andy Ruiz’s return vs. Jarrell Miller. Top talent David Morrell fights Radivoje Kalajdzic and two-time Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz meets Antonio Moran.

“[Boxing] is broken, but I think we don’t need to get everything back together,” Alalshikh said. Indeed, boxing sat atop the global sports landscape for much of the 20th century. But with the best matchups being relegated to pay-per-view, the sport’s lack of centralized governing body and the minimization of pugilism at the Olympics, the sport has waned in popularity since.

“We need to improve it with something else, we have a strategic vision where we have identified untapped opportunities and are committed to market improvement.”

Saudi Arabia hosted the Anthony Joshua-Ruiz heavyweight title rematch in December 2019, the first major boxing event in the Kingdom, and als

Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerFeatured Columnist IVMay 5, 2024

Tyler Conway@@jtylerconwayFeatured Columnist IVMay 5, 2024

Canelo Alvarez is still the undisputed super middleweight champion.

On Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Alvarez dropped Jaime Munguia en route to a unanimous decision victory (117-110, 116-111 & 115-112).

Munguia had his moments landing some clean combinations, but Alvarez walked through all of them and didn’t show any signs of being affected by the punches.

Alvarez landed a picture-perfect right uppercut that sent Munguia to the canvas in the fourth round. It was the first time Munguia had been dropped in his career.

Munguia didn’t slow his effort after this moment. He made it to his feet and kept trying to put pressure on Alvarez throughout the fight.

While he landed a few noteworthy punches each round, Munguia’s lack of speed left him vulnerable to Alvarez’s power counterpunches, leading to the former being outboxed.

According to CompuBox numbers forwarded to me, Alvarez outlanded Munguia 234-170, and most notably, he connected on 151 power punches to 96 for the challenger.

With the victory, Alvarez improved his impressive record to 61-2-2. Munguia took the first loss of his professional career. He is now 43-1. While Munguia lost, he made a solid account of himself. Perhaps he could move up to fight at light heavyweight.

Munguia looked massive in the r

Oscar De La Hoya Reacts to Jaime Munguia Loss Against Canelo Alvarez

During the Canelo vs. Munguia post-fight press conference, Oscar De La Hoya heaped praise on Munguia for his efforts. He believes that the defeat will be a learning experience for Jaime, and even compared the shortcoming to Canelo’s first pro boxing loss (via MMAMania).

Oscar De La Hoya gives his reaction to Canelo Alvarez beating Jaime Munguia at the post-fight press conference: "It's just like Floyd Mayweather vs Canelo – Canelo got schooled and then he became the face of boxing."

[🎥 @PremierBoxing] pic.twitter.com/P50rpNFdAM

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) May 5, 2024