Canelo Alvarez is finalizing a deal to fight Jamie Munguia on May 4 in Las Vegas for Alvarez’s undisputed super middleweight championship, according to multiple reports on Thursday.
The fight will be available to watch on Prime Video PPV and DAZN, per Salvador Rodriguez of ESPN.
Alvarez reportedly stands to earn more than $35 million from the event. He and Premier Boxing Champions parted ways last week with two bouts left on a three-fight deal. The 33-year-old will fight Munguia as part of a one-fight deal with PBC, though there is hope that he will continue to work with the promotion company, fellow ESPN boxing insider Mike Coppinger reported.
Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KO) became the first Mexican to claim the undisputed world champion title when he defeated Billy Joe Saunders of Britain in 2021. The win unified the super middleweight division belts of all four boxing entities (WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF).
Most recently, Alvarez faced undisputed super welterweight champion Jermell Charlo in September. He dominated Charlo for most of the 12 rounds, retaining all of his belts by unanimous decision at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Munguia (43-0, 34 KO) notched a major ninth-round TKO win over British fighter John Ryder in January, a career moment since the 27-year-old held the WBO junior middleweight title from 2018 to ’19. He’ll also be Alvarez’s first Mexican opponent since Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in 2017, per ESPN.
That said, he isn’t the opponent most fans were hoping Alvarez would take on next. That description goes to David Benavidez (28-0, 24 KO), who has called out Canelo for avoiding him on multiple occasions.
Benavidez has held the WBC super middleweight title twice. He lost it in 2018 when he tested positive for a substance in cocaine, then again when he missed weight in 2020. Benavidez called out Alvarez when he beat Caleb Plant in 2023, a year that also saw him defeat Demetrius Andrade.
It doesn’t look like he’ll be meeting the long-awaited opponent in the ring any time soon.
Source Agencies
