Canelo vs Mungia will meet Cinco de Mayo weekend in Las Vegas

The Las Vegas strip will be draped with green, red and white Mexican flags on May 4th as Canelo Alvarez makes his return to the ring against fellow Mexican boxer Jaime Mungia. Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) will put his undisputed super middleweight world title on the line against unbeaten all-action former world champion Jaime Munguía (43-0, 34 KOs) headlining a PBC Pay-Per-View event on Prime Video from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Controversy swirled this fight as different opponents were pitched for Canelo the initial opponent was rumored to be Jermall Charlo, the boxing world has called for David Benavidez. However, Canelo chose Mungia. Canelo vs. Munguía is the first four-belt undisputed title fight between Mexican combatants, and it takes us back to the great Mexico vs. Mexico matchups of the past including classics such as Erik Morales vs. Marco Antonio Barrera, Carlos Zárate vs. Alfonso Zamora and Jesús Castillo vs. Rubén Olivares, amongst many others.

“I’m very proud and excited to be able to make this fight,” said Canelo. “A Mexican versus another Mexican is always a huge fight and it’s been a while since there’s been one like this. It’s great to give an opportunity like this to a fighter that’s earned it like Jaime has. It gives me a lot of joy that two Mexicans will be facing each other in such a big fight for the sport.”

The 27-year-old Munguía first burst onto the scene in 2018, shocking Sadam Ali via a fourth-round TKO to claim a 154-pound world championship, which he would go on to defend successfully five times.  Munguía made his debut at super middleweight in June 2023, facing longtime top contender Sergiy Derevyanchenko. Munguía emerged victorious with a unanimous decision in the back-and-forth contest that garnered Fight of the Year honors. In his most recent fight, Munguia joined forces with legendary trainer Freddie Roach, who helped guide him to a dominant ninth-round stoppage of veteran contender John Ryder in January.

 “I’m very, very happy and filled with enthusiasm for this great opportunity,” said Munguía. “I’m incredibly grateful to everyone involved who were able to make this fight a reality. We are ready to give fans a great night of boxing on Saturday, May 4. I can’t wait to demonstrate to the world that I am capable of doing great things. Viva Tijuana and Viva México!”