Super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez’s title defense against Jaime Munguia is part of a one-fight deal with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on May 4th on Amazon Prime and DAZN PPV.
Once the deal is done, the superstar Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) will be a free agent and either re-sign with PBC or move to DAZN to fight Matchroom fighter Edgar Berlanga in a Mexico vs. Puerto Rico clash.
The Benavidez Factor
If Canelo brings in big PPV numbers for his one-fight experiment with Al Haymon’s PBC, they’ll likely attempt to put a fight together between him and David Benavidez. That’s the fight that PBC really wants from Canelo, as fans demand to see it.
To get Canelo to agree to that fight, PBC must offer him the kind of money the Saudis are paying the British heavyweights Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
Those two are making enormous amounts of money in risk-free fights against Francis Ngannou and Otto Wallin. PBC would need to offer Canelo a massive pay package to get him to take the Benavidez fight since he’ll feel like he’s underpaid if it’s not on par with the money the Saudis are throwing around.
Return to DAZN on the Horizon
If Canelo re-joins with DAZN, fans will get the lesser fight between him and Berlanga, a fighter with a similar inflated record as Munguia and not well thought of by U.S. fans outside of the East Coast.
That’s a fight that promoter Eddie Hearn has been pushing for since he signed Berlanga to his Matchroom Boxing stable, and it’s one that Canelo will surely take if DAZN is willing to pay.
“It’s a fight that I know the Mexican fans are going to be excited about. It’s the first time since 2017 that Canelo fights a fellow Mexican,” said Ariel Helwani on the YouTube channel DAZN Boxing.
“That was back when he fought Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. So, it’s been quite some time, and Jaime Munguia is 27 years young but 43-0. He’s coming off a fantastic win over John Ryder. It’s a massive step up in competition for him, but credit to Canelo for giving him the opportunity.
“Yeah, Benavidez would have been great, but this was choice #2 in my book and I love the component of Mexico vs. Mexico.”
