Boxing legend Bernard Hopkins expects Canelo Alvarez to put the heat on challenger Jaime Munguia early to make him gunshy in the second half of their fight on May 4th on Amazon Prime and DAZN PPV.
Hopkins says the key for Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs) is to stay composed early and resist the impulse to get into a war with undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs).
It will be a difficult ask for the 27-year-old Munguia due to his lack of experience against upper-tier opposition during his 11-year professional career.
His promoters at Golden Boy and Zanfer Promotions have done such a great job of shielding him from dangerous opposition that he’s arrived at this point in his career, never having fought anyone even remotely close to the level of Canelo.
Munguia Must Stay Composed
“Munguia believes it’s time, but Canelo will not be walking away handing it to Munguia. It’s got to be earned, not given,” said promoter Bernard Hopkins to the media, discussing the May 4th fight between undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez and challenger Jaime Munguia.
“It’s going to be fireworks, and Munguia has tot to make sure he doesn’t get hit with anything early. He’s got to make sure he stretches this thing out and is on point during every moment. Let’s see if he has the discipline,” said Hopkins.
They’ve shielded Munguia for so long that he may not be ready for this moment. It’s another reason boxing needs to change to prevent promoters from manufacturing fighters by matching them against cream puff opposition to get them into a big fight so they can make a ton of money but get destroyed due to their lack of proper development.
Munguia is arguably the poster boy for a manufactured fighter with a 100% inflated resume. Ryan Garcia is another example of a fighter with an inflated resume, and he’s also promoted by Golden Boy.
“If he has the discipline not to get back [retaliate] if he does get hit with a shot. He may need to be near-perfect on that night,” Hopkins said about Munguia.
“Munguia is going to have to use his reach and his IQ to take this fight into a round of deep waters. Maybe Canelo is looking at this like, ‘I’m going to put the heat on this young lion early, and he’s going to be gunshy later,'” said Hopkins.
