GGG vs. Munguia on September 14 makes sense

By Boxing News - 07/18/2019 - Comments

Image: GGG vs. Munguia on September 14 makes sense

By Sean Jones: Now Saul Canelo Alvarez is no longer fighting on September 14, it leaves that valuable date open for Gennady Golovkin and Jaime Munguia to swoop in and snatch it up for DAZN. Canelo Alvarez (52-1-2, 35 KOs) pulled out of the card earlier on Wednesday due to Golden Boy Promotions unable to “secure the right opponent” and have time for the “promotion” of the fight.

WBO junior middleweight champion Munguia (33-0, 26 KOs) would be an excellent option for Golovkin to fight on September 14 on DAZN.  That date is a huge one due it falling on the Mexican Independence day holiday. Now that Canelo has moved off the date, it leaves it open for GGG and Munguia to grab it.

Golovkin vs. Munguia would work for DAZN on September 14

Given that September 14 is now less than two months away, there wouldn’t have been enough time to promote the fight properly even if Golden Boy did find a high caliber opponent like Sergey Kovalev, for example. WBO light heavyweight champion Kovalev (33-3-1, 28 KOs) is the guy that Canelo and Golden Boy Promotions wanted for the September 14 date on DAZN, but he reportedly didn’t agree to the purse offer, which was said to be $6 million. There’s talk that Kovalev wanted $10 million for a return fight on DAZN.

Munguia has got a lot of good experience lately in beating these fighters:

  • Liam Smith
  • Brandon Cook
  • Sadam Ali
  • Takeshi Inoue
  • Dennis Hogan

Munguia, 22, is more than ready to take on a lion like Golovkin. It’s obviously true that Munguia fights at 154, but he blows up to 175 pounds after he rehydrates for his fights. That puts Munguia right at around the same weight as Golovkin after he rehydrates for his fights. GGG weighs around 173 pounds. Munguia won’t be at a huge weight advantage in fighting Golovkin at middleweight. The only area where Munguia will be at a disadvantage is in experience.

Canelo’s knee rumored to be giving him problems

Canelo’s right knee might be one of the reasons why Golden Boy Promotions chose to move him off the September 14 date this year. The knee might have been a contributing factor along with Golden Boy being unsuccessful in securing the right opponent to please Canelo’s  fans as well as DAZN.

The streaming giant is said to have only approved Golovkin and Kovalev. With such limited options, Golden Boy would be at the mercy of those two fighters when it came to negotiations.

Here’s the partial news announcement from Golden Boy about Canelo postponing his September fight:

“The decision was made in an effort to secure the right opponent and to do justice to the level of promotion required for a boxing star of his magnitude. Though Canelo typically fights in May and September, it is not without precedent to fight later in the year as Canelo did fight in December of 2018 in Madison Square Garden. Canelo‘s next fight will now take place later in 2019.”