Analyst Sergio Mora believes Canelo Alvarez’s experience will be key to his title defense against Jaime Munguia on May 4th in what he feels will be a Mexican war on Amazon Prime and DAZN PPV.
(Photo credit: Esther Lin & Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions)
The former world champion Mora feels the younger fighter Munguia’s youth, size, and ability to take punishment. This fight is the high point of the 27-year-old Munguia’s 11-year professional career, and he’ll be giving it all he’s got to try and dethrone Canelo.
Munguia must know this is his only shot at Canelo, and if he loses, there won’t be a second chance. Moreover, there won’t be anyone who can provide him a payday similar to the one he’s getting against Canelo, so he’s got to make the most of it.
If he loses, he won’t be able to use the same backdoor method of fighting lesser opposition to get a rematch. It only works once for Munguia.
After this, he’ll have to fend against the sharks in the 168-lb vision, fighting David Benavidez, Caleb Plant, and David Morrell. It’s fair to say that Munguia’s career will quickly go downhill after his fight with Canelo on May 4th if he fails to win.
Munguia Can Withstand Punishment
“Munguia has proved that he can take a beating and still come back and do some beating of himself,” said Sergio Mora to Fight Hub TV on the Canelo Alvarez vs. Jaime Munguia contest on May 4th on Amazon Prime and DAZN PPV.
“The [Sergiy] Derevyanchenko fight was an absolute war, but he [Munguia] gets hurt a lot. He got hurt against Tureano Johnson and Spike O’Sullivan, Derevyanchenko rocked him a couple of times, and Ryder was hitting him with some good, clean punches,” said Mora.
If Munguia allows Canelo to connect with the same shots that Derevyanchenko, O’Sullivan and Ryder hit him with, he’s not going to last long. Even as good as Munguia’s chin is, he’s not going to be able to take those kinds of punches for long without getting knocked out.
“Whenever you get hit that cleanly, Canelo is going to take advantage of that,” said Mora. “So, it’s not like the biggest fight for fight fans. Benavidez is the biggest fight for Canelo, but this is a very close second.
Canelo’s Advantage
“Munguia is going to be a problem for Canelo in the first half of the fight because of size and youth and the punch resistance is going to be on Munguia’s side.’ said Mora.
The gulf in experience between the two is massive. Sadly, Munguia has been protected his entire career by his promoters, kept away from the many fighters that would have beaten him at 154, 160, and 168. He’ll be facing his first true talent, and that’s not a good thing.
If Munguia had come up during the Roberto Duran era in the 70s and 80s, he would have been fighting top-rung composition throughout his career rather than taking his first test after 11 years in the pro ranks.
That’s how the sport has changed. Nowadays, promoters manufacture fighters, building up fake records to make them look good until they can cash them out in a big payday fight they’re totally unprepared for. Munguia is a classic example of a manufactured fighter.
“The experience, especially at the championship level, is going to be on Canelo’s side. Ultimately, I don’t think it goes the distance. I favor Canelo, of course, but Munguia should hang in there with his youth, his size, and his punch resistance,” said Mora.
