LAS VEGAS – The question of whether Canelo Alvarez can knock anyone out anymore probably won’t end with his unanimous decision victory Saturday night, but he remains the undisputed super middleweight champion because he was the stronger and more effective boxer.
Alvarez (61-2-2), who closed as a minus-380 favorite at BetMGM, overcame a somewhat slow start to dominate and handed Jaime Munguia (43-1) his first defeat.
The champion took full control after knocking Munguia down in the fourth round in front of the announced audience of 17,492 people, which was split fairly evenly between the two competitors.
Tim Cheatham scored the fight 117-110, David Sutherland scored it 116-111, and Steve Weisfeld scored it 115-112.
“When I retire, my numbers will tell me where I stand,” Alvarez said. “I know there have been a lot of great Mexican fighters in the past, but I’m the best fighter right now.”
This is the second time in a row that Alvarez has left no doubt as to who was the best fighter and shows why, even at 33 years old, he continues to be one of the biggest names in the sport. Alvarez also managed to beat Jermell Charlo in September by even bigger margins.
Those two fights followed two underwhelming wins and one loss. While Alvarez has shown he is still the class of his division, he has yet to score a knockout since defeating Caleb Plant in 2021 – a span of five fights.
Alvarez was cautious about what he might do next, saying he would return to the ring “if the money is right.”
“I fought everyone and I can do whatever I want,” he said.
The build-up to the fight was exceptionally civil, with both fighters saying they were proud to represent Mexico on Cinco de Mayo weekend.
“This win means a lot,” Alvarez said. “I’m glad I gave him this opportunity. Munguia is a great guy and a great champion. They are here watching us.
Alvarez saved his harshest criticism throughout the week, not for his opponent, but for Munguia’s prosecutor. Oscar De La Hoya used to be on Alvarez’s side, but they are clearly on opposite sides now and almost came to blows at Wednesday’s press conference after exchanging accusations.
Munguia, 27, was the most aggressive boxer in the first three rounds, even putting Alvarez on the ropes in the third. Alvarez, however, showed in the fourth that he wasn’t going anywhere, using a left and then a right to the face to send Munguia to the canvas with 38 seconds remaining to change the tone of the fight.
Alvarez then hit Munguia in the next four rounds with shots to the face. Munguia mustered his own sets of volleys, but they did little noticeable damage to Alvarez.
That was until the ninth round, when Munguia landed some blows to the face that sent Alvarez backwards, even reaching the corner at one point. But Alvarez responded with his own combinations, including coming out of the corner, in the most action-packed round of the fight.
The 10th and 11th rounds were close, but largely followed the same tendencies of Alvarez throwing the harder punches.
Munguia came out in the final round as if he knew he was behind on the judges’ cards, but did little to change the result. It was Alvarez who once again threw the best punches, using a combination with about a minute remaining on Munguia’s head and following up with a few more blows to end the fight.
“I came out strong and was winning the first few rounds,” Munguia said. “I dropped my hands, but he is a fighter with a lot of experience. The loss hurts because it is my first defeat and I felt strong.”
In the other fights on the main card:
– San Antonio’s Mario Barrios (29-2) successfully defended his interim WBC world welterweight title by defeating Argentina’s Fabian Maidana (22-3) by unanimous decision in the co-main event. Each judge scored the fight 116-111.
Barrios won despite fighting with his right eye almost completely closed.
“Maidana fought hard for 12 rounds as I expected,” Barrios said. “Once my eye started swelling, it was hard to find my range.
– Interim WBC featherweight world champion Brandon Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KOs) of Welasco, Texas, knocked out Jessie Magdaleno (29-3) of Las Vegas with a left punch to the kidney with one second remaining the end of the ninth round ended.
– Lithuania’s Eimantas Stanionis (15-0) easily retained his WBA welterweight title by claiming a unanimous decision over Venezuela’s Gabriel Maestre (6-1-1) with scores of 117-111, 118-10 and 119-109 .
___
Advanced Sports:
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
