Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) showed he was a class apart against Jaime Munguía (43-1, 34 KOs).
Canelo won a unanimous decision at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Scores for the bout were 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112 in a clash that saw Munguía go down in round four. The fight headlined a May 4 event promoted by Canelo Promotions and TGB Promotions, in association with Golden Boy Promotions and Zanfer Boxing Promotions. With the win, the Guadalajara native remains the undisputed super middleweight champion.
The card consisted of 11 bouts total. While a lot of attention was on the headliner, much could be learned from the entirety of the event. Big Fight Weekend presents five things we learned from watching Canelo vs. Munguía.
Canelo vs. Jaime Munguía: Five Things We Learnt
Experience Helps
Álvarez is currently 33 years old. He has been fighting some of the best fighters in the world for over a decade. All of that experience clearly has a role in how he fights opponents today. Against Munguía, he was calm and methodical. There were no punches thrown with reckless abandon. Instead, Canelo took his time to outbox his opponent over 12 rounds. While the Tijuana native had some success prior to getting knocked down, Canelo’s approach ensured that he was the one with his hand raised in the end.
Hear T.J. Rives and Dan Rafael speak on the event and more on the “Fight Freaks Unite Recap Podcast” by clicking play below.
Munguía Has Talent That Should Be Seen Against Better Opposition
While Munguía lost for the first time as a professional, he showed that he has the talent to take on the best at 168 lbs. Going forward, he should continue to face top fighters. One complaint about Munguía’s career has been his level of opposition since winning a unanimous decision against Liam Smith in 2018. The former super welterweight has talent and is still only 27. One can hope that his handlers match him well in future fights.
A Lengthy Layoff Is Not Always Career Ender
Eimantas Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC) went nearly 25 months between fights when he finally took on Gabriel Maestre (6-1-1, 5 KOs). Despite that, he fought as though the layoff never happened. The Lithuanian won a comfortable unanimous decision with scores of 119-109, 118-110 and 117-111. With the win, he once again establishes himself as one of the better welterweights in the world. One hopes that he can remain active on his way to a world title shot.
Mario Barrios and Brandon Figueroa Still Settling in New Weight Classes
Just before the main event, Mario Barrios (29-1, 18 KOs) won a unanimous decision against Fabián Maidana (22-3, 16 KOs). Though he knocked down Maidana in round three and won with scores of 116-111 across the board, Barrios showed that he is still some way away from challenging the best welterweights in the world. “El Azteca” faced an opponent that did not throw a lot of punches. Maidana was still able to cause significant swelling to the eye of Barrios and make it to the final bell.
Brandon Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KOs) won via knockout in round nine against Jessie Magdaleno (29-3, 18 KOs), but had some difficulty before doing so. Magdaleno did not make weight for this bout, coming in 2.6 lbs over the featherweight limit. Figueroa had trouble landing on his opponent who would tie up to avoid harm’s way. Magdaleno was also able outbox “The Heartbreaker” for periods of the fight. In the end, a clean body shot rendered Magdaleno unable to get.
While both Barrios and Figueroa won, they still appear to require some more fights before beating the best in their respective weight classes. Both men do hold interim versions of the WBC world title, but one hopes that they get time to further train before facing the champions.
There Should Be a Way to Watch Prelim Fights if One Wants To
Of the 11 fights on this card, only six were available for viewing to those not present at the venue. As a result, fans missed out on watching some neat bouts. While not everyone watching the card will tune in for these fights specifically, it would be nice if there was a way to do so if one chooses to.
For one, there was promising super bantamweight prospect David Picasso (28-0-1, 16 KOs) who got a technical knockout win against Damien Vásquez (17-4-1, 10 KOs). In a clash between unbeaten fighters, Julian Bridges (5-0, 2 KOs) won a unanimous decision against Jabin Chollet (9-1, 7 KOs). More significantly, William Scull (22-0, 9 KOs) won a unanimous decision against Sean Hemphill (16-2, 10 KOs). Scull is not just any super middleweight fighter. He is also ranked No. 1 by the IBF and due a mandatory shot at the title currently held by Canelo. While these are only some of the fights that were untelevised, the nature of the bouts show what fight fans missed out on.
In short, an accessible way to watch these fights for those not in attendance would be great. While some fighters stream their fights on their social media channels for fans, a single accessible stream for preliminary fights would do more to promote them.
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