A mammoth Cinco de Mayo card takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas this Saturday, and it’s a Mexican derby in the main event, with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez defending his undisputed super middleweight gold against Jaime Munguia.
Amazon Prime and DAZN both televise Canelo vs Munguia live on pay-per-view.
With over 60 contests to his name, it’s hard to believe that Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) is still only 33 and he is vastly decorated, having won world titles in multiple weight classes.
The Guadalajara native completed the undisputed title set at 168 pounds in 2021 by stopping Caleb Plant in 11 rounds, but he came unstuck in trying to take the WBA light heavyweight title six months later, as Dmitry Bivol expertly took a points win in Las Vegas.
A trilogy win on the cards against Gennady Golovkin in defence of his undisputed title followed, before a wide points win against John Ryder last May in a homecoming bout in his native Mexico.
Alvarez’s last contest came in September last year, dropping Jermell Charlo on the way to another landslide points win. He now faces another Mexican with a long ledger at a young age.
27-year-old Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs) has flattered to deceive after a spell as WBO super welterweight champion, fighting against a series of nondescript opponents since moving through the weights.
A move up to super middleweight saw a tight points win against Sergiy Derevyanchenko, where a final round knockdown sealed the win for him, and he was last out in January 2024, dropping the aforementioned Ryder four times in a ninth round stoppage win.
Prediction: It will be interesting to see how Munguia takes the step-up in class, and how much ambition Canelo has left at this stage of his career. I still think he will have enough to defeat Munguia though, and he can take a clear win on points.
Figueroa faces Magdaleno
The undercard features three more scheduled twelve rounders.
The interim WBC featherweight title is on the line, as the champion Brandon Figueroa defends against Jessie Magdaleno.
A former WBC and WBA champion at super bantamweight, Figueroa (24-1-1, 18 KOs) won the interim title at 126 pounds last March, taking a scrappy points win against Mark Magsayo.
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Magdaleno (29-2, 18 KOs) is coming off a points loss to Raymond Ford, and previously served as WBO champion at super bantamweight.
Prediction: I expect Figueroa to retain his belt on the scorecards.
Barrios battles Maidana
Another interim WBC title fight comes at welterweight, where Mario Barrios defends his belt against Fabian Andres Maidana.
Barrios (28-2, 18 KOs) lost his WBA super lightweight title in 2021, stopped in eleven by Gervonta Davis, and then dropped a decision on his welterweight debut against Keith Thurman eight months later.
The 28-year-old has won his last two though, his most recent a wide decision win against former welterweight world champion, Yordenis Ugas where he dropped the Cuban twice.
Maidana (22-2, 16 KOs) has won four on the spin since a 2021 loss to Francisco Mercado, but has been operating at a low level in his native Argentina.
Prediction: Barrios can win this inside schedule.
Stanionis meets Maestre
The final title action also comes at welterweight, where Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs) should defend his WBA ‘regular’ welterweight title with a points win against Gabriel Maestre (6-0-1, 5 KOs).
Remaining Undercard
In ten rounders, Vito Mielnicki Jr (17-1, 12 KOs) can take a decision win at super welterweight against Ronald Cruz (19-3-1, 12 KOs), and also at super welterweight, Jesus Alejandro Ramos Jr (20-1, 16 KOs) can do the same against Johan Gonzalez (34-2, 33 KOs).
In eight round action, Alan Picasso Romero (27-0-1, 15 KOs) can halt Damien Vazquez (17-3-1, 10 KOs) in their super bantamweight meeting, and Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela (28-3-1, 17 KOs) can also win early against Jose Angulo (16-8, 9 KOs).
Super middleweight prospect, William Scull (21-0, 9 KOs) should stay unbeaten with a points win against Sean Hemphill (16-1, 10 KOs).
A couple of lightweight six rounders round off the bill.
Jabin Chollet (9-0, 7 KOs) can win on the cards against Julian Bridges (4-0, 2 KOs) and Adrian Torres (7-0, 6 KOs) can win inside schedule against Arsen Poghosyan (3-1-1, 2 KOs).
