By: Sean Crose
“He’s not good enough for Canelo,” ring announcer Ariel Helwani said during Saturday night’s undisputed super middleweight title fight between Jaime Munguia and the legendary reigning champion, Canelo Alvarez. Helwani was right. Munguia is simply not good enough for Canelo. Why? Because Canelo has much stronger punching power. It’s a matter of strength – and Canelo is simply the stronger of the two fighters. The fight went all twelve rounds, but there was no doubt the judges made the right decision in awarding Canelo a unanimous decision victory after the final bell rang.
“I just took my time,” Canelo said after the fight. “I had twelve rounds left to win the fight and I did it.” When asked about the prospect of facing formidable opponent David Benavidez, Canelo affirmed his position as one of the most attractive players in the world. “If I had money, I could fight right now. I don’t care,” he said. “Right now I can ask anything I want. I can do anything I want. And I’m Mexican.” As for Munguia, the 27-year-old looked frustrated after the referee read the card. “I started off well,” he said, “but yeah, obviously I had problems.”
Those problems all come from Canelo’s heavy fists. While it’s true that Munguia played well 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 with one of his shots from above was granted his patent. Munguia was able to get up but the fight belonged to Canelo from that moment on. Not that Munguia doesn’t have his moments. Indeed, he was able to execute effective combinations throughout the remainder of the match. However, in the end it didn’t matter. Canelo’s punches are very strong, very strong. Plus, they tend to fall directly on Munguia’s head – and especially on his body.
While it’s true that Canelo may not be the fighter he once was, the man is still one of the best in the business. It will be interesting to see where his career goes from here. Obviously he can choose to fight who he wants when he wants. People have accused him of dodging Benavidez, but Canelo has been accused of dodging opponents before – and he stepped up to meet the challenge. Don’t be surprised if the Canelo-Benavidez fight happens at some point in the near future.
