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Jaime Munguia Can Beat Canelo Alvarez, Says Former Mexican Opponent

Published 04/01/2024, 6:18 AM EDT

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The Canelo Alvarez and Jaime Munguia showdown is nearly a month away. As the days close by, the buildup has been witnessing the online landscape strafed with predictions. The match takes place on May 4, during the Cinco de May weekend, at the T-Mobile Arena. The duo will slug it out for Alvarez’s undisputed super middleweight title. Among several voices, even a former opponent of the P4P great joined, sharing his thoughts on the tentative outcome.

The super fight falls on the back of months of talks and discussions over Canelo Alvarez’s potential opponent. From the WBC mandatory challenger to talks of a fight with Terence Crawford, then from avenging twin brother to a fresh batch of challengers, Alvarez had in front of him a plate full of names to be considered. Finally, the race concluded when fellow Mexican Jaime Munguia crossed the finish line first.

Canelo Alvarez vs. . Jaime Munguia: Dawn of a New Era

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FightHype reached out to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to check for his views on the Alvarez-Munguia clash. “What do you think about Canelo Munguia? You fought Canelo?” The reporter asked. The son of legend Julio Cesar Chavez replied that, though Canelo Alvarez is a big-time celebrity, he would pick Jaime Munguia. Not only is he younger, but the fact remains that he is fighting some of the best in the business, Chavez Jr. reasoned. “I think he is like a… Canelo is a celebrity for his vibe. But I like to I like Munguia because he’s like younger and he fighting the best,” he said.

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Then he is able to see Munguia improve with each fight. Under the legendary trainer Freddy Roach’s tutelage, he has become much sharper. Hence, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. sounded quite confident that the Tijuana-born, unbeaten boxer will prevail on May 4, though, by all accounts, Canelo Alvarez remains the crowd favorite to win. He added, “I see like a lot a lot of progress on every fight, so with Freddy Roach, I have a confidence in Munguia, but of course Canelo is the favorite.

The reporter then checked with Chavez Jr. to see if he had observed any changes in Alvarez’s fighting style since the time they fought seven years ago. The former middleweight champion recalled how he had to lose weight for the fight.

When the son of a legend came across ‘Cinnamon’

Then he stated how good a boxer Canelo Alvarez is. However, in his strong opinion, the undisputed super middleweight champion cannot be classified as a great boxer. It appears that Chavez Jr. is under the assumption of a rematch taking place between the two. Probably that was the reason why he opined that Canelo Alvarez might get stuck up in the first fight. Hence, he would happily give the benefit of the doubt to Jaime Munguia.

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Per the available reports, the agreement between Alvarez and Munguia seems to have a distinct rematch clause. It allows for the two to get back together only if Jaime Munguia wins the May 4 battle.

On May 6, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena, Canelo Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. squared up for a match set at a catchweight of 165 pounds. In a largely lopsided showdown, the future undisputed champion handed over the third career loss to Julio Cesar Chavez’s son by a unanimous decision. A few months after the context, the former kicked off the first of the trilogy fights with Gennady Golovkin. Chavez Jr., on the other hand, went inactive for nearly two years. He returned only in August 2019. He fought the next two years with a mixed bag of results, which included a loss to mixed martial arts great Anderson Silva.

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Do you agree with Chavez Jr.’s assessment? Please share your views with us in the comments below.

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Written by:

Jaideep R Unnithan

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One take at a time

Jaideep Unnithan is a senior boxing author at EssentiallySports. Inching towards the milestone of over 2000 articles, he has been a chronicler of day-to-day developments happening inside and outside of the squared circle. Having a keen eye on the punches traded inside the ring, he has written opinion pieces on the fighting styles of Floyd Mayweather Jr, David Benavidez, and Terence Crawford.
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Edited by:

Arijit Saha