Promoter Oscar De La Hoya says Jaime Munguia’s combination punching, jab, youth, and killer instinct will lead to him beating Canelo Alvarez in the May 4th fight between the two fighters.
De La Hoya feels this is a “changing of the guard” with the 27-year-old Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs) dethroning undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs), who is getting up there in age at 33 and looks to have lost a few steps in his last three fights.
The question is, has Canelo slipped enough to where the badly flawed Munguia, with his inflated resume of lesser opposition to defeat him, or will he still have too much for this fighter with a 100% manufactured record?
Changing of the Guard?
“Jaime Munguia throws a lot of combinations, and when he has you hurt and he smells and try to jump at you and finish you,” said promoter Oscar De La Hoya to the media about his fighter Jaime Munguia on what he’ll do to Canelo Alvarez on May 4th if he hurts him.
Munguia won’t be there to play pattycake against Canelo, and if he gets him hurt, he’ll definitely go for the finish, as De La Hoya points out. The only worry is whether Munguia has the experience and defense to deal with what Canelo throws at him in the fight.
When a promoter matches a fighter as weakly as they’ve done with Munguia, it generally ends badly for that fighter when they step them up against talented opposition.
“All those combinations, the youth and the jab [of Munguia], they’ve been working on something with him,” said Munguia. “The jab is going to be key. It’s going to be a huge event on DAZN and Amazon on a global scale. Are we going to see the changing of the guard or are we going to see Canelo reign supreme once again?
“We got to spark something here, and guess who has to do it,” said De La Hoya about him needing to be at the press conferences for Canelo vs. Munguia to spark interest. I just want it to be hugely successful because boxing deserves it.”
If Munguia loses this fight, the 11 years and all the money that De La Hoya and his Golden Boy Promotions company will have gone to waste. They’ve ramped him up for this moment, keeping him away from dangerous opposition in each division he’s fought in just get him to the point where Canelo would select him.
If Munguia loses this, where does he go? He’s definitely not good enough to beat David Benavidez or David Morrell Jr.
Those two would feast on a limited fighter like Munguia, and he would struggle against the B-level super middleweight contenders, Diego Pacheco, Christian Mbilli, Edgar Berlanga and Caleb Plant.
“Munguia-Canelo will be huge, and I really do think it’s going to be the changing of the guard. In other words, I don’t want to fight him,” said De La Hoya when asked about Canelo wanting 150-200 million for a fight against David Benavidez.
Will Munguia Really Face Benavidez?
“In a split decision. That’s the difference between Munguia and Canelo,” said De La Hoya on whether Munguia would be willing to fight Benavidez if he’s victorious against Canelo on May 4th. “Munguia will fight anybody. Look at how many times he’s had ‘Fights of The Year.’ Twice in his career. When have you seen Canelo have Fights of The Year?”
