Canelo Alvarez finalizing deal to fight Jaime Munguia on May 4 in Las Vegas, per reports
Canelo Alvarez is finalizing a deal to fight Jaime Munguia on May 4 in Las Vegas for Alvarez’s undisputed super middleweight championship, according to multiple reports Thursday.
The fight will be available to watch on Amazon 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, ESPN boxing insider Mike Coppinger reported.
Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) became the first Mexican to claim the undisputed super middleweight title when he defeated Caleb Plant in November 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 KOs) notched a major ninth-round TKO win over British fighter John Ryder in January, a career highlight for the 27-year-old after Alvarez fought Ryder to a decision last May. 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 WBC interim super middleweight champion David Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs), 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 cocaine, then again when he missed weight in 2020. Benavidez called out Alvarez when he beat 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 anytime soon.
