Canelo Alvarez fighting Jamie Munguia over David Benavidez could leave a bad taste in fans’ mouths

Canelo Alvarez will take on Jamie Munguia on Cinco De Mayo. It is a great day for Mexican boxing considering two Mexicans will fight with 4 belts on the line for the first time in history. In the past, Canelo had vowed never to fight a fellow Mexican again. His last fight against his countryman was with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in 2017. However, he has made this exception for Munguia. Unfortunately, fans were hoping for another Mexican in David Benavidez to be in the mix.

The undefeated Benavidez is the mandatory contender for the WBC title in 2024. WBC President, Mauricio Sulaiman has made it clear as such. Failure to do so may result in WBC stripping Canelo of his title. However, this hasn’t fazed Canelo one bit, who unabashedly claims that Benavidez has nothing to offer him other than 25 extra pounds on fight day.

The only reason Canelo will fight Benavidez

Canelo made it clear that he doesn’t have anything left to prove in the world of boxing. As such, even though fans around the world wish him to take on Benavidez, he remains defiant. However, there is one reason he could take on Benavidez: $150 to $200 million.

This number is so outrageous that even Saudi Arabia has moved past this fight. This was after David Benavidez personally urged Turki Alalshikh to make this fight happen. Therefore, this fight is unlikely to happen anytime in the future. Moreover, Canelo’s former promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, also believes this demand was Canelo’s way of ducking Benavidez.

Is Jamie Munguia an easier fight than David Benavidez?

Yes, as fans believe Munguai will be a cakewalk for the veteran with 64 fights under his belt. However, the writing is not on the wall yet. Jamie Munguia was involved in arguably the best fight of 2023 when he took on Sergiy Derevyanchenko. His last fight was his best performance to date when he took on John Ryder in January 2024. As such, he is coming into this fight with a lot of confidence. Munguia is young, fresh, and undefeated with a record of 43-0, 34 KOs.

On the other hand, David Benavidez is also undefeated. He is 28-0 with 24 KOs. However, what makes him more formidable than Munguia is his physical stature. Benavidez is 6 foot 2 compared to the 5 foot 8 Canelo. He is also 10 years younger than Canelo and holds a 4-inch reach advantage. Moreover, he has significantly fewer fights than Canelo and is a career 168-pounder. All this definitely makes him a tougher fight than Munguia, but only on paper.

Canelo will retire as the face of boxing irrespective of Benavidez fight

Since Floyd Mayweather retired or maybe even before that, Canelo has been the face of the boxing world. He turned pro when he was 15 and hasn’t looked back since. He is 34 now. Moreover, the Mexican legend will fight for the 65th time in his career when he takes on Jamie Munguia, having only lost 4.

He has also given the world some of the best matches, the most popular being his trilogy against GGG. Titles in 4 different divisions, unbelievable performances, and decades of consistency make Canelo Alvarez worthy of being inducted into the Hall of Fame. However, fans would still wish the cherry on top of his storied career to be a win over David Benavidez before he does hang up his gloves.

In case you missed it!

• “I can do whatever I want!” Canelo Alvarez says David Benavidez’s rehydration clause is ‘lose-lose’ situation
• “Stupidest thing I’ve…” Canelo Alvarez sends a fiery response to Oscar De La Hoya for calling their press conference boring

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