Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya wants a Mexican showdown on May 5th, with Canelo Alvarez facing Jaime Munguia, in a “war” on the Cinco de Mayo holiday.
Unfortunately for De La Hoya, Canelo hasn’t said who he plans on fighting next in May, and given that this is the second fight of his three-fight deal with PBC, they’re likely to insist that he face one of their fighters.
Munguia is with Golden Boy and fights on DAZN, so that makes him an unlikely opponent for Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) to defend his undisputed super middleweight championship. The fighters that PBC likely wants for Canelo to fight next in May are one of these three:
– David Benavidez
– Jermall Charlo
– Terence Crawford
PBC might be interested in using Munguia as an opponent for David Benavidez to use as a stepping stone to help build his popularity. However, De La Hoya likely won’t agree to feed Munguia (42-0, 33 KOs) to Benavidez because they’ve carefully matched him for his entire ten-year professional career, keeping him away from the dangerous threats to build up his resume.
Some feel that De La Hoya has been grooming Munguia from day one in his career for the sole purpose of fighting Canelo for big money. If that doesn’t happen this year, it might not ever.
“The past is the past, and Canelo, I’m glad he understands that there are a lot of whispers, and the truth is, we had a great career together. Me as a promoter, him as a fighter,” said Golden Boy Promotions boss Oscar De La Hoya to Fight Hub TV, talking about Canelo Alvarez.
“We made him a lot of money. He put himself on the pedestal. He’s the King of boxing now, and I’m proud of that, I really am, because I had something to do with his career. Now, the whispers in his ear, I cannot control, and that’s probably what happened.
“For me, if there’s an opportunity to work with him again, I would love to because there are a lot of great memories between us, inside and outside the ring. But there’s a tremendous opportunity for both guys to face.
“Imagine two Mexicans inside the ring at the highest level. We haven’t seen that since Barrera-Morales. We haven’t seen that since Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez. We haven’t seen that in a long time. Julio Cesar Chavez and Jose Martinez.
“I would love to be a part of history. I would love Canelo to be a part of that history and Munguia and give the fight fans an amazing show because you know it’s going to be a war, especially when it’s in that ring right here,” said De La Hoya about wanting Canelo Alvarez vs. Jaime Munguia next.
