Canelo Alvarez secured a one-sided unanimous decision win against Jaime Munguia to retain his Undisputed Super Middleweight Title.
Coming into the fight, Canelo said he would stop Munguia within eight rounds. His last stoppage win was against Caleb Plant in 2021, showing he had a tough task. Since he failed to stop Jermell Charlo, a 154-pounder, in his last fight, Munguia would have posed some trouble for him.
Munguia Starts Well
And so it showed with Munguia beginning well. He took control of the center, using his jab to keep Canelo on the outside. It was a positive start for the underdog. In the second, Alvarez increased the pace as he landed his right hand on Munguia’s head for the first time. Munguia took it well, responding with some shots of his own, before Canelo countered with a left.
Canelo Drops Munguia
The miss and counter proved crucial in round four. Munguia fell short with a left land, causing Canelo to respond with a left hook and right uppercut. With Munguia’s hands down, he got hit, dropping to the canvas. While he made it out of the round, the momentum shifted. Canelo pulled ahead with that 10-8 round, dominating past the halfway stage. Munguia sought to exert his dominance with volume, only to get countered with a nasty left hook to the body in the seventh.
Munguia became desperate, landing low blows in the ninth with the referee telling him off. He needed a stoppage and almost paid for it in the 12th. Canelo landed a big right hand that shook Munguia, but the champion failed to follow up. In truth, it was a decisive win on the scorecards, with the judges giving Canelo the win: 117-110, 116-111, and 115-112.
Post-Fight
“I take my time. That’s why I have a lot of experience. Jaime Munguia is a great fighter. He’s strong, he’s smart. But I take my time. I have 12 rounds to win the fight and I did. I did really good and I feel proud about it. He’s strong but I think he’s a little slow. I could see every punch … That’s why I’m the best. I’m the best fighter right now, for sure. I don’t know right now.
“I’m going to rest, I’m going to enjoy my family. But you know, if the money is right, I can fight right now. At this point, everybody’s asking for everything, right? When I fought Lara, Charlo, Miguel Angel Cotto, Mayweather, Billie Joe Saunders, everybody say I don’t want to fight them. And I fought all of them. So right now, I can ask whatever I want, and I can do whatever I want,” Canelo
“I came out well but I think at the beginning, I was winning some of those rounds. It was going well and I let my hands go but he was a fighter with a lot of experience, obviously. He beat me. Unfortunately, he beat me. The loss hurts, it definitely hurts. Yes, there’s no doubt. I started well but I obviously had some problems,” Munguia
More must-reads: