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Saul Canelo Alvarez vs Jaime Munguia shakes up Cinco de Mayo on May 4 for the undisputed super middleweight champion in Las Vegas, United States. With their undisputed super middleweight fight on May 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas now official, can Jaime Munguia subject Saul Canelo Alvarez to the same rough treatment the boxing public gave him when he pummeled the champion in the process? to get his Mexican compatriot as an opponent?
Undefeated 27-year-old Jaime Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs), the former WBO super welterweight world champion from Tijuana, is the opponent in the highly acclaimed annual Cinco de Mayo rematch, as Saul Canelo Alvarez announced it on Instagram. The decision came after passing over the public's most desired pick, undefeated former super middleweight champion David Benavidez, who claimed that the most popular active fighter in the sport was walking away from a sizable payday in favor of a man considered by many to be a softer guy. .
To illustrate how far Saul Canelo Alvarez is willing to go to fight Jaime Munguia, instead of World Boxing Champion teammate Benavidez, this fight marks a reunion with the promoter who parted ways with Canelo in November 2020: Oscar De La Hoya. De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions is Munguia's promoter in the United States, handling the fighter's last appearance, a ninth-round stoppage of Briton John Ryder in Arizona, eight months after Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) won a unanimous decision over Ryder in a match in Mexico in May.
Not only that, while PBC is producing the fight and launching a new broadcast deal with Amazon Prime Video this year after a decade with Showtime, Munguia's selection means the fight will also be distributed by DAZN, rather than being a Prime Video exclusive. Two officials familiar with the negotiations who were not authorized to speak publicly told BoxingScene that DAZN will also broadcast this fight, due to its exclusive relationship with Golden Boy Promotions and Golden Boy's multi-fight agreement with Munguia.
DAZN, according to one of its officials, will receive a much smaller share of the revenue it receives from pay-per-view purchases – the largest share will go to Amazon – according to the official. PPV.com will also broadcast this match via streaming. While there has been some speculation that Munguia's relationship with Golden Boy ends with the Ryder fight, an official told BoxingScene that no one on the Amazon/PBC/Canelo side is reviewing the Munguia-Golden Boy contract, and no one wants to risk litigation by excluding DAZN. “There are enough arguments (that Golden Boy and Munguia are still under contract) that fighting him would slow things down, and possibly be a headache down the road,” the official said.
What's important is that Canelo, 33, finally gets an opponent and a chance against a fighter who has the striking ability to score his first knockout or finish since he stopped Caleb Plant in November 2021. Since then, Canelo has lost to light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and scored three unanimous decision wins over a lethargic Gennadiy Golovkin, the now-retired Ryder and 69.8 kg champion Jermell Charlo.
While Benavidez recorded a Nov. 25 knockout victory over then-undefeated former middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade to assert his position as Canelo's most obvious opponent, the sport's most prominent champion instead considered Charlo's twin brother, Jermall Charlo, a heavyweight champion. Undefeated middleweight who came out of retirement and fought a lesser version when defeating Benavidez's older brother, Jose Benavidez Jr. on the same card.
Hard-hitting Edgar Berlanga was also favored when Canelo and PBC parted ways, but DAZN – and his die-hard fans – weren't interested in that either. Munguia was the obvious compromise choice, and now he is starting to build his case as a worthy challenger to the undisputed champion.
Benavidez's father, Jose Benavidez Sr. said he believes the “younger and stronger” Munguia can give Canelo Alvarez a fight that suits his desires moving forward. And Munguia now has Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach in his corner, pointing to the move seen in the Ryder fight as an example of how this fight has far more competitive value than Canelo's two fights in 2023.