LAS VEGAS – Shane Mosley has dismissed suggestions that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez enters Saturday’s fight with Jaime Munguia in decline.
At Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, on the occasion of Cinco de Mayo weekend, Alvarez will defend his undisputed super middleweight title against his fellow Mexican Jaime Munguia, who, at 27, is younger than him by six years.
Alvarez’s defeat in May 2022 by Dmitry Bivol triggered suggestions that he is declining, and his three opponents since then – Gennady Golovkin, John Ryder and Jermell Charlo – each survived all 12 rounds.
Mosley went the distance with Alvarez in 2012, when the Mexican was rapidly enhancing his reputation, and having since retired and watched Alvarez establish himself as the world’s leading fighter, Mosley expects him to continue to excel.
At his admirable peak, Mosley was considered by some observers to be the world’s finest fighter. Having also been impressed by Munguia, Mosley said of the champion: “He’s got a lot of fight in him. He’s only 33 years old. I was still fighting at 46, so he should be alright.
“But I think Munguia is really good as well. It should be pretty interesting. I think it’ll be a great fight and I’m looking forward to seeing the fight – I think it’s going to be action-packed.
“[Alvarez’s] counterpunching and speed. The counterpunching – he’s very fast, and he knows when to punch and when not to punch. He does very well at the boxing game.
“Munguia’s a fighter. He likes to sit there and mix it up with you, you know? He’s tall, rangy, has good speed and power, and he can be very difficult [to fight].
“I always found him interesting, but Freddie [Roach, the trainer working with Munguia, in their second fight together] having a lot of experience in the game, as well as other coaches, too, can maybe change him into a different direction and make the shots get in there better. Maybe he can find the right rhythm with Freddie Roach – find great rhythm and find great timing.
“I give Canelo the edge because he has most of the experience, but I do see Munguia giving him some problems and [winning] some of the rounds. So we’ll see what happens, you know? Anything can happen in this fight.
“It could be points or knockout. It could go both ways. Either guy could win by points or [via] knockout.”
Mosley twice recorded victories over Oscar De La Hoya, and then later worked alongside him in a promotional capacity with Golden Boy Promotions.
For all the considerable mutual respect between Alvarez and Munguia, the relationship between the champion and De La Hoya, his former promoter, has become increasingly strained. Mosley said, “I think Oscar knows why it’s personal – because of what he does. Whatever he does, because of what he does, he knows why it’s personal – it’s personal with all his fighters.”
