SecondOxing has changed. HBO and Showtime are gone. Once-dominant boxers like Roy Jones, Bernard Hopkins, Andre Ward and the Klitschko brothers have left the arena. Major fighting is engrossing Saudi Arabia.
Through it all in recent years, there has been one constant – Canelo Alvarez.
Canelo had a great fight on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, earning a unanimous decision victory over Jaime Munguia. For those who are into boxing straight up, this win cemented his status as the iconic boxer of this era.
In 2005, Canelo turned professional at the age of 15. , Danny Jacobs, Sergey Kovalev, Billy Joe Sanders, Caleb Plant, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto and Erisland Di Lala. He held all four major 168-pound belts and won world titles from 154 to 175 pounds. Forbes ranks him as the fifth-highest-paid athlete in the world.
The road to Canelo Mongia is long and winding. Last September, Canelo defeated Jermall Charlo in the first fight of a three-bout contract with the Premier League boxing champion. That encounter aired on Showtime-PPV and generated an estimated 700,000 buys. Charlo fought to survive, not win, saying afterwards, “I’m proud of myself: He didn’t knock me out.”
Subsequently, on October 17, Paramount announced that it would close Showtime’s sports division and would no longer broadcast boxing matches.Next, on December 7, PBC and Amazon announced that Prime Video will non-exclusively distribute PBC pay-per-view events and live broadcast a series of “free” PBC championship boxing matches The fight card is only available on Amazon US.
Amazon aims to build a pay-per-view live streaming platform for various events. Its relationship with the People’s Bank of China was an early foray into this world. It has no interest in playing the role that HBO and Showtime have played in boxing. It will acquire and distribute the products offered.
The deal gives the People’s Bank of China a huge boxing platform. Prime Video has more than 150 million subscribers in the United States. But so far, Amazon hasn’t given much of a marketing boost to PBC’s pay-per-view fight. And the “free” card hasn’t come into play yet.
Canelo is widely expected to be a key figure in the PBC pay-per-view show on Amazon. Then, on February 26, it was revealed that PBC fired him after a dispute over the contract, rather than pay him the minimum contract amount that had been agreed upon. It’s unclear whether that’s because the two sides can’t agree on an opponent. Rumor has it that Canelo’s lawyers asked for $35 million to be held in escrow under the old agreement to cover his client’s next wallet, but the People’s Bank of China refused.
However, in March of this year, Canelo announced that he would return to PBC with a new one-fight contract to face Munguia in a fight that will be available for pay-per-view on Amazon and other platforms, including DAZN (with DAZN Golden Boy has a deal), promoter of Munguia).
Munguia (now 43-1 with 34 KOs) hasn’t had a tough judge on his record who could elevate him to elite status. But in his most recent fight, he knocked out John Ryder (who lost to Canelo last May). He is 27 years old and trained by Freddie Roach.
Adding a subplot to the proceedings, Canelo was once promoted by Golden Boy. But he left the company several years ago and has since feuded with Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya. In the build-up to Saturday’s fight, Canelo distanced himself from De La Hoya, telling reporters: “I have no interest in being his friend. I’m fine wherever I am. I don’t have anything to do with him. I wish him all the best.” He’s doing fine, that’s all, but I don’t want him in my life and I don’t want him in my life.
That is to say; Canelo Munguia used to be This is Golden Boy’s second chance at a huge upset victory in two weeks. On April 20, Golden Boy’s most marketable boxer, Ryan Garcia, defeated Devin Haney in a high-profile, well-received bout.
Canelo-Munguia is a great matchup, but not as important as one might imagine on May 5th weekend between two Mexican boxers, one of whom is arguably boxing’s biggest star. One boxing scene veteran recalls looking around the media center during boxing week, seeing former HBO detail commentator Jim Lampley (now a mainstay of PPV.com boxing coverage) and thinking, “There’s a buzz there. Sound, but no power. The 17,492 spectators for the fight night were far from a full house.
Canelo is the favorite. The fighters expressed mutual respect. The last Mexican boxer Canelo faced before Munguia was Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in 2017. Fredo Angulo.
“This fight could divide Mexico,” Munguia said. “But in the end, it will unite Mexico because everyone will be watching this fight.”
The feud between Canelo and De La Hoya erupted during Wednesday’s final pre-fight press conference. Canelo called De La Hoya “a fucking bastard” and accused him of stealing from fighters.
“He can’t seem to remember who helped him become a true global star,” De La Hoya responded. “…Yes, there have been times when, due to my mental health, work has not been my priority and I have neglected it for a long time. But that doesn’t change what Golden Boy has built as Canelo Alvarez. Fact. The company you work for has always had a name, and it’s mine, so give it some fucking respect.
Later in the day, Golden Boy was dealt a blow when reports emerged that Garcia had tested positive for ostarine, a banned sports performance drug, before and after his fight with Haney.
When fight night came, the 10-round undercard was long and tedious. Then the main event began and the monotonous night turned golden.
The crowd split in half. Munguia controlled the first round with his jab. Canelo started fighting more aggressively in the second round and his opponent was willing to fight. Munguia was a little faster, continued to apply pressure and landed solid punches. Canelo has to walk through fire to win. Then, with 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Munguia’s right uppercut sent him to the floor for the first time in his career.
In the fifth round, Munguia fired again. The crowd cheered. This is a war. Canelo seemed to enjoy the test. His body shots are starting to take their toll. But Munguia persisted and rallied in the eighth round. Canelo once again accepted the challenge and fought back.
It was a tense, all-out firefight with two tough, brave warriors giving it their all. Munguia doesn’t let Canelo rest. The champion begins to tire. But he is a well-rounded fighter who showed great skill and technique in the final rounds, found his position and continued to land sharp strikes. Munguia launched a knockout in the 12th round and Canelo held his ground.
I scored the fight 116-112 for Canelo (7-4 in each round, one of which was a draw). Judges Steve Weisfield (115-112) and David Sutherland (116-111) straddled those numbers, while Tim Cheatham scored it 117-110.
Answering post-fight questions on the floor, Canelo refused to include himself in the pantheon of great Mexican champions.But he did come up with this idea: “I’m the best warrior [in the world] Now, of course.
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Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His latest book – the memoir “My Mother and Me” – Now available in stores. In 2019, he was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame, boxing’s highest honor.
