It’s fight week, and not only that, Cinco de Mayo weekend will soon be upon us once again. And as fans know, since the great Julio Cesar Chavez claimed the massive Mexican holiday as his own as far as giving his fans a big fight with which to get into the celebrations, it’s been big fight after big fight.
Canelo Alvarez has boxed on Cinco de May no less than eight times, and this Saturday the number will grow to nine. But how does Canelo’s upcoming fight with the unbeaten Jaime Munguia – Munguia being just the second Mexican fighter to have faced Canelo during the big weekend – fair alongside Canelo’s previous Cinco de Mayo appearances?
Of course we will not know for sure until the fight has ended, and who knows, maybe Canelo will make short work of Muguia in a fight to be almost instantly forgotten. Or, more realistically, Canelo might have to dig deep to come through a really great fight with Munguia. We will soon find out.
But here, in order of them taking place, are Canelo’s previous Cinco de Mayo fights:
- Shane Mosley, May 5, 2012 – W12
- James Kirkland, May 9, 2015 – KO3
- Amir Khan, May 7, 2016 – KO6
- Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, May 6, 2017 -W12
- Danny Jacobs, May 4, 2019 – W12
- Billy Joe Saunders, May 8, 2021 – RTD8
- Dmitry Bivol, May 7, 2022 – Lost12
- John Ryder, May 6, 2023 – W12
Canelo has scored some devastating stoppage wins when fighting on Cinco de Mayo – his chilling icing of Khan proving worrying at the time – and he has also put in some workmanlike performances that saw him win on points. Thus far in his career, Canelo has suffered just one defeat when boxing on the big Mexican holiday, this against 175 pounder Bivol.
Can Munguia put his own name in the record books by defeating Canelo, in so doing becoming the first Mexican fighter to hold a win over the Mexican superstar? Again, not too long to go until we find out.
Some fans have been, and still are, critical of Canelo for opting to take the Munguia fight over one with David Benavidez. This criticism is fair enough, but at the same time, there is nothing wrong with Canelo Vs. Munguia. This fight is no dud. At least we don’t think it will result in a dud.
Pick: Canelo to overcome some genuinely rough patches to pound out a close decision win that has everyone who is wearing a sombrero cheering their approval. And us non-Mexicans will also fully appreciate the action.
Who are YOU picking on Saturday, and how?
