Canelo Alvarez will need to fight Jaime Munguia next on May 4th to get his guaranteed purse of $35 million. That’s the fight that PBC wants from him, believing that Canelo-Munguia will sell more on PPV than Canelo vs. Jermall Charlo for the Cinco de Mayo date.
Does Canelo Push Back?
Canelo is kind of in a bind here, as PBC wants him to fight Munguia. If Canelo wants his guaranteed dough, he’ll need to give in to what PBC is asking him by facing Munguia.
If Canelo pushes back, he’ll lose out on his payday, and he could have difficulty finding another promotional company willing to pay him $35 to fight Jermall. That’s a fight that has PPV disaster written all over it.
Certainly, PBC’s choice of a Mexican fighter for Canelo’s opponent makes sense, given that the May 4th date is a holiday for Mexico. Jermall is American, and his popularity has dropped off due to inactivity. He’s a forgotten star.
The Benavidez Question
Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) chooses his opponents and doesn’t let his promoters railroad him into fighting guys that they want for him. If it were that way, Canelo would have been forced to fight David Benavidez a long time ago.
Bending to PBC’s pressure this time for Munguia will certainly set the wheels in motion for the same thing to happen later this year for Canelo’s fight in September, with Benavidez being forced on him.
That’s something that Canelo and his manager, Eddy Reynoso, will consider when they decide on whether to take the fight with Munguia for May 4th.
At this point in Canelo’s career, he’s earned the right to fight whoever he wishes and not be pushed to someone a promoter wants him to.
Canelo vs. Munguia will sell but probably not make the money that will allow PBC to profit. Munguia is not a star in the U.S. He’s just a former paper champion at 154 and has done nothing at 160 and 168.
Munguia’s recent fight against 35-year-old John Ryder might have fooled some fans into thinking he’s 24K gold, but the reality is that was another carefully picked opponent for Jaime like the previous 42 that he’d faced during his career.
A far better choice than Munguia talent-wise would be for Canelo to fight David Morrell Jr. However, he’s not well known in the U.S., even though he’s a much better fighter than Munguia.