Canelo Alvarez and PBC are back in talks for a clash against Jaime Munguia on May 4th. This would be a new deal for Canelo, different from the 3-fight plan that he previously had with Premier Boxing Champions.
The Munguia Match-Up
The negotiations are ongoing, but they must speed up if Canelo wants time to promote his May 4th clash against Munguia or whoever. American fans aren’t keen on a fight between Canelo and Munguia, as that’s not the one they’ve been asking for. They want David Benavidez. Munguia is arguably the fourth or fifth-best fighter at 168 behind these guys:
1. David Benavidez
2. David Morrell Jr.
3. Canelo Alvarez
4. Jermall Charlo
5. Jaime Munguia
6. Christian Mbilli
7. Diego Pacheco
If you saw how Munguia looked in his fight against Sergiy Derevyanchenko, it’s easy to know why Canelo wants to fight him so badly. Munguia hasn’t improved enough to have any chance against Canelo.
Even Jermall Charlo is a better fighter, but he doesn’t have a huge build-in fan base in the U.S that will support him the way Munguia does.
There’s no word as to why Canelo had a change of heart about moving to DAZN as planned after his three-fight deal with PBC crumbled.
PBC’s Best Interest
ESPN reports this could be a one or two-fight deal for Canelo with PBC. It’s in PBC’s best interest to sign Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) to a one-fight deal for the Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs) clash on May 4th, and if that does well on Amazon Prime PPV, negotiate for a second fight.
Canelo had negotiated with DAZN for a two-fight deal to face Munguia and Edgar Berlanga, but nothing was agreed. It’s unclear if the money wasn’t to Canelo’s liking or if DAZN balked at the idea of Berlanga being the second match. Both would have been risky fights for DAZN, so they may be better off with Canelo moving back to PBC. They’ll be the ones that take the risk.
“Canelo Alvarez and PBC discussing a Jaime Munguia fight May 4 after sides split last week with two fights left on a three-fight deal signed in June, sources tell ESPN. If the deal is reached, this would be a new pact. Canelo was discussing a two-fight deal with DAZN for fights with Munguia and Edgar Berlanga before he re-engaged with PBC. It could be for one fight, could be for two. Nothing signed yet,” said Mike Coppinger on X.
“The old three-fight deal between Canelo and PBC was effectively torn up last week as Alvarez began exploring a deal with DAZN. Now, increasingly likely, he returns to PBC with different money being discussed and no Jermall Charlo fight.”
Fan Frustration
Canelo’s popularity has taken a hit, with fans not as excited at seeing him fight, and a big reason for that is he stopped taking risks after his second fight with Gennadiy Golovkin.
Although Canelo lost to WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in 2022, that was expected to be a winnable fight then, and fans weren’t excited about it.
Canelo made a lot of bad decisions in the last three years, milking the public fighting these uninspiring foes:
John Ryder
Jermell Charlo
Gennadiy Golovkin: Trilogy
Billy Joe Saunders
Avni Yildirim
Rocky Fielding
Sergey Kovalev
Daniel Jacobs