That’s all for tonight. Thanks for following along with us as always and be sure to check out the full report here.
“I came out well but I think at the beginning, I was winning some of those rounds,” Munguia says through a translator. “It was going well and I let my hands go but he was a fighter with a lot of experience, obviously. He beat me. Unfortunately, he beat me. The loss hurts, it definitely hurts.”
Munguía doesn’t hesistate when asked if he would have won against anybody other than Álvarez tonight: “Yes, there’s no doubt.”
He adds: “I started well but I obviously had some problems.”
“I take my time,” says Álvarez, speaking entirely in English, when asked of his slow start. “That’s why I have a lot of experience. Jaime Munguía is a great fighter. He’s strong, he’s smart. But I take my time. I have 12 rounds to win the fight and I did. I did really good and I feel proud about it.”
On whether he was sure he’d be able to counterpunch so effectively: “He’s strong but I think he’s a little slow. I could see every punch … That’s why I’m the best. I’m the best fighter right now, for sure.”
Naturally, Álvarez is asked about a potential fight with David Benavidez, the three-time super middleweight champion who has been chasing the Mexican for years.
“I don’t know right now,” Álvarez says. “I’m going to rest, I’m going to enjoy my family. But you know, if the money is right, I an fight right now. I don’t give a shit.”
He adds: “At this point, everybody’s asking for everything, right? When I fought Lara, Charlo, Miguel Angel Cotto, Mayweather, Billie Joe Saunders, everybody say I don’t want to fight them. And I fought all of them. So right now, I can ask whatever I want and I can do whatever I want.”
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Canelo Álvarez beats Jaime Munguía by unanimous decision!
Canelo Álvarez has won a 12-round unanimous decision over Jaime Munguía to retain his WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO super middleweight titles. The official scores were 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112.
Round 12
Munguía needs a knockout and he’s fighting like he knows it. He comes out letting his hands go, but quickly tires as Álvarez coolly picks his shots with an eye on closing in style. Álvarez lands a sharp combination upstairs with about a minute left that briefly wobbles Munguía. Álvarez lands no fewer than five crunching power shots in the final 20 seconds, but Munguía somehow stays upright. There’s the final bell and the scores would seem little more than a formality.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Munguía (Álvarez 118-109 Munguía)
Round 11
Munguía’s motor is impressive! He’s still throwing punches in surprising volume. But Álvarez is evading most of them and landing the harder, more effective blows in return. Three more minutes.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Munguía (Álvarez 108-100 Munguía)
Round 10
Álvarez’s superior percision, punch resistance and conditioning have been the story of the fight. Munguía is game, but there’s just not enough there to mount the sort of offensive that would make a difference at this stage. Two more rounds.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Munguía (Álvarez 98-91 Munguía)
Round 9
Munguía needs to land something big to change the tenor of the fight and it seems like he does early in the ninth, but Álvarez claps right back with a flurry of shots to the head and body. Álvarez, annoyed by shots that he thinks are below the beltline, keeps looking at referee Thomas Taylor. This is Munguía’s best round since early in the fight and it’s still not enough against the tireless, ruthless champion.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Munguía (Álvarez 88-82 Munguía)
Round 8
More of the same. Álvarez is inching forward into the pocket, landing left hands practically at will, unconcerned by Munguía’s return fire.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Munguía (Álvarez 78-73 Munguía)
Round 7
Álvarez, who is fighting an excellent if not flawless defensive fight, continues to prove an elusive target for Munguía, who is showing extraordinary effort. Munguía doesn’t appear to have to energy to sustain the combination punching that was testing Álvarez earlier in the fight for much longer than brief spurts. Álvarez continues to tenderize his opponent’s midsection, looking more and more in command with each round.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Munguía (Álvarez 68-64 Munguía)
Round 6
Álvarez, who refused to take his stool between rounds, rocks Munguía early in the sixth with a left hook. He’s completely taken over this fight over the past two rounds. Munguía showing great heart in giving pursuit but his legs are rubbery as Álvarez only grows more emboldened. Now the chants ringing down from upper reaches of T-Mobile Arena are: “Ca-ne-lo! Ca-ne-lo!”
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Munguía (Álvarez 58-55 Munguía)
Round 5
Álvarez’s fourth-round knockdown was against the run of play and changed the momentum of the action on a time, but Munguía is doing well to hang in there. But there are definite signs of fatigue on the challenger, who is being broken down methodically and looks to be running out of ideas.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Munguía (Álvarez 48-46 Munguía)
Munguía down in fourth round!
Round 4
Huge chants of “Mun-guí-a! Mun-guí-a!” at the start of the fourth. More heated two-way exchanges on mostly even terms ensue until the final minute of the frame. Álvarez lands two loaded uppercuts but the challenger takes them well. Moments later, Munguía misses a left hand then Canelo follows with a left hook-right uppercut combination that drops Munguía for the first time in his professional career. He beats the count and he makes it to the bell, but the message has been sent.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-8 Munguía (Álvarez 38-37 Munguía)
Round 3
Both men throwing shots with bad intentions early in the third. Munguía keeps dropping his right hand, ominously. But he’s also tagging Álvarez with crisp power shots. Crowd-pleasing bursts of two-way action contested on even terms. Munguía closes the round on a roll, throwing about a dozen unanswered shots, many of which find the target. Álvarez lands a counter left before the bell, but Munguía’s eye-catching flurry in the final seconds was surely enough to win the frame.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 9-10 Munguía (Álvarez 28-29 Munguía)
Round 2
Álvarez continues to land shots on Munguía’s elbows, a favorite technique down the years. He’s ramped up his work rate after a more measured opening round. Munguía lands a very nice one-two combo to the head and the body. Álvarez lands an even crisper one moments later on the forehand over Munguía’s lowered guard. Another very close round. We could be in for a special one.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 9-10 Munguía (Álvarez 19-19 Munguía)
Round 1
There’s the bell! Munguía plants himself in the center of the ring and looks to establish the jab as Álvarez, who looks a lot smalled in there, circles him. Álvarez lands a right hand. Munguía is throwing jab after jab, then begins throwing punches in combination. The crowd is behind the challenger, chanting Munguía’s name! Álvarez continues walking forward, almost completely disregarding the incoming fire, and landing some thudding body shots when inside. Close round but we’ll shade it to the more effective Canelo over the busier Munguía.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Munguía (Álvarez 10-9 Munguía)
The final instructions have been given, the seconds are out and we’ll pick it up with round-by-round coverage from here!
The national anthems of Mexico and the United States have been performed ... and it’s time for the fighter entrances. First out of the tunnel is the challenger, Jaime Munguía, making his way to the ring at a fairly brisk pace in a tri-color robe flanked by trainer Freddie Roach and a singer belting the Vicente Fernández standard Mexico Lindo y Querido (which, oddly enough, is a common Canelo walkout song).
Now it’s Canelo’s turn and it’s a far more theatrical turn with an extended violin intro before he emerges onto the floor wearing a black Dolce & Gabbana robe with blue trail alongside the Mexican singer Luis R Conriquez, who is singing a Sinaloa-style number.
Updated
Tale of the tape
Here’s a look at how Álvarez and Munguía measure up ahead of tonight’s main event. Canelo is conceding four inches in height and one and a half inches in reach, not to mention six years on the calendar.
Mario Barrios has just won a unanimous decision over Fabian Andres Maidana. All three judges scored it 116-111, as did the Guardian. Barrios dropped Maidana for the first time in his career and brought a mostly accommodating dance partner to heel from there.
Next up: the main event between Canelo Álvarez and Jaime Munguía.
As we wait for the final preliminary bout to finish, a quick look back at the big news of the week: that is, Ryan Garcia testing positive for the performance-enhancing anabolic agent ostarine on the day before and the day after his surprise win over Devin Haney last month in Brooklyn.
That boxing has a drug problem is one of sports’ worst-kept secrets. But Thomas Hauser believes the growing Saudi influence on the promotional side has created a unique opportunity to clean things up.
There are two main stumbling blocks to ridding boxing of illegal performance enhancing drugs: (1) a lack of motivation on the part of those in control, and (2) the cost of effective drug testing.
The General Entertainment Authority is uniquely situated to surmount these obstacles. Virtually every fighter in the world wants to fight under its banner because of the large purses involved. In order to do so, they will obey its rules. And the GEA has the funds to pay for a sophisticated comprehensive drug-testing program.
With that in mind, I’d like to make the following proposal:
(1) The General Entertainment Authority in conjunction with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada) should institute a program to test boxers for illegal performance enhancing drugs.
(2) To qualify to fight under the auspices of the General Entertainment Authority, a fighter would have to be enrolled in the GEA-Vada program for at least six months prior to the fight. Obviously, the six-month requirement wouldn’t become effective until after the program has been in place for six months. But fighters would have to enroll now to be considered for a date within the next six months.
(3) The program would cost between $500,000 and $1,000,000 annually. There would be a cost saving on the back end of the testing process because, if a fighter is subjected to testing throughout the year, fewer tests will be necessary as a fight approaches. Here, I should note that Vada testing is already used for some of the General Entertainment Authority’s fights. But the testing doesn’t begin until after a fight is signed. And PEDs are often most effective when used to build core strength months in advance of a fight. The GEA would pay for the testing, so there would be no charge to the fighters.
In order for the program to be effective and credible, it should be run by Vada.
“Canelo has a great deal of experience and has faced great fighters,” Munguía said this week through a translator. “I may not have the same resume, but I have youth on my side. I’m going to showcase my capabilities on Saturday night.
“We’ve worked on so much with Freddie Roach and had an amazing training camp. You’re going to see everything that we’ve learned on Saturday night.
“I’m glad that he wants to knock me out, because I come with the same mentality. I’m gonna knock him out. It’s gonna be a great fight.”
Both Álvarez and Munguía have been uncommonly polite to one another throughout the run-up, with Canelo reserving his venom for his former promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, who now works with Munguía.
When a translator sanitized Álvarez’s words during Wednesday’s final press conference, the fighter switched to English.
“He tried to steal money, and he’s a fucking asshole,” Álvarez said. “That’s what I said. He’s a fucking asshole. He tried to [bring] attention to him, not for Munguía. He’s a fucking asshole. He steals from his fighter. That’s what he [does]. Fucking pussy motherfucker.”
Brandon Figueroa has just stopped Jessie Magdaleno to retain his WBC interim featherweight title. Figueroa delivered a withering left hook to the liver as the bell rang to signal the end of the ninth round. Magdaleno went down in a crumple, didn’t come close to beating the 10-count and that was that.
That leaves one more undercard fight before tonight’s main event and it’s coming up next: Mario Barrios and Fabian Andres Maidana in a scheduled 12-rounder for Barrios’ WBC interim welterweight title.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to tonight’s super middleweight championship fight between Canelo Álvarez and Jaime Munguía. We’ve got a fascinating matchup in store as the 33-year-old Álvarez, a four-division champion and boxing’s biggest star, puts his WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles at 168lbs on the line against the 27-year-old Munguía, who is unbeaten in 43 professional bouts with 34 wins inside the distance.
It’s only the sixth all-Mexican undisputed title fight at any weight in boxing history and the first in more than 52 years, when Rafael Herrera stopped Ruben Olivares for the WBA and WBC bantamweight titles on 19 March 1972.
We’re about 90 minutes away from the main event. Plenty more to come between now and then.
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Donald McRae’s interview with Oscar De La Hoya from earlier this week.
