PBC officially announced Canelo Alvarez vs. Jaime Munguia today in the all-Mexican clash on May 4th, Cinco de Mayo, in an event shown on Amazon Prime and DAZN PPV from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The PPV prices haven’t been revealed yet, but they’ll likely be in the same $70+ region where all Canelo’s fights are priced. Hopefully, there’s a good undercard to make it worthwhile for fans to purchase.
The Collective Shrug
Interestingly, the boxing public largely ignored the news, tuning it out for the most part because the Canelo-Munguia fight had already been pre-announced weeks ago. Perhaps as the fight date draws closer, fans will be more excited about it.
Right now, they’re not, and a big part of that is Munguia has fought no one of substance during his entire career and doesn’t rate this fight. He’s kind of a creation by his promoters, who have kept him unbeaten by selective match-making.
Given that this isn’t the fight that fans want to see, it would be smart for PBC and DAZN to price it as low as possible to entice the many who will choose not to purchase it.
Tired of the Easy Road
Some fans are disappointed and fed up with the undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) for his decision to take another easier fight rather than face David Benavidez.
Canelo has made it pretty clear by his avoidance of Benavidez that he’s not interested in taking hard fights at this point in his career, which is why he’s picked the 27-year-old Munguia
“Munguia is coming off a really interesting fight against John Ryder, getting the stoppage. Canelo, there’s a lot of question marks about him,” said boxing expert Paulie Malignaggi to the Probox TV YouTube channel, reacting to the official announcement of the Canelo Alvarez vs. Jaime Munguia fight on May 4th on Cinco de Mayo on Amazon Prime and DAZN PPV.
Expert Analysis: Malignaggi & Algieri Weigh In
“We don’t know where his mind is at. He’s made a lot of money, he’s doing really well in life. He’s got one fight out the door, and he doesn’t want to fight the best. So, he’s clearly picking Munguia because he sees flaws in him.
“He’s obviously not looking to fight the best because if he wanted to fight the best, he’d have fought Benavidez. So, if you’re picking this guy because you’re thinking he’s going to be easier, maybe you’re underestimating Munguia.
“You find yourself in a whirlwind tornado of a fight at a pace that you don’t like. What happens? Cinco de Mayo, all the Mexicans out there,” said Malignaggi.
“When Canelo lands that first big shot, does Munguia respect it or walk through it?” said Chris Algieri. “If he walks through it, Canelo is going to have a long night because that kid is going to keep coming. His whole career was prepped for this moment. This is his coming out party.”