Canelo Alvarez Proves He's Too Tough For Jaime Munguia

Written by: Sean Crose

“He doesn't deserve Canelo,” said announcer Ariel Helwani at Saturday night's unscheduled super middleweight fight between Jaime Munguia and defending champion, Canelo Alvarez. Helwani was right. Munguia was simply no match for Canelo. Why? Because Canelo had great power in his fists. It was a question of strength – and Canelo was the stronger of the two fighters. The fight went all twelve rounds, but there is no doubt that the judges made the right call by awarding Canelo a decision victory after the final bell rang.

“I'm taking my time,” Canelo said after the fight. “I have twelve rounds to win the fight and I did it.” When asked about the prospect of facing dangerous opponent David Benavidez, Canelo asserted his status as one of the biggest sports in the world. “If the money is right, I can fight right now. I don't say anything,” he said. “Right now I can ask for anything I want. I can do whatever I want. And I'm Mexican.” As for Munguia, the 27-year-old appeared dejected after the judges' scorecards were read. “I started well,” he said, “but yes, obviously I had some problems.”

Those problems came from Canelo's heavy punches. While it's true that Munguia looked good early on, Canelo remained patient, as is his wont, and that patience paid off in the fourth round when he sent Munguia to the mat, courtesy of one of his patented uppercuts. Munguia was able to get to his feet, but the fight was Canelo's from that point on. Not that Munguia didn't have his moments. Indeed, he was able to throw successful combinations throughout the bout. However, in the end it didn't matter. Canelo's fists were hard, they were pounding like that. In addition, they used to stay clean on Munguia's head – and especially on his body.

While it's true that Canelo may not be a fighter, the man remains one of the absolute best in the business. It will be interesting to see where his career goes from here. It is clear that he can choose who to fight when he wants. People accused him of misleading Benavidez, but Canelo has been accused of misleading opponents before – and he has stepped up to the challenge. Don't be surprised if a Canelo-Benavidez fight happens sometime in the near future.