Canelo Repeals The Mexican Ban, Gives Munguía A Shot, Yet Still Avoids The "Mexican" Monster
The Munguía fight may be fun, but the tragicomedy of avoiding Benavidez continues
Canelo’s business partners weren’t interested in bankrolling his latest scheme because only the most devout Canelo Cultists could have believed that his proposed virtual reality series was actually world championship boxing. So he acquiesced, to a degree.
PBC/Al Haymon paid Canelo huge money for his dominant victory over Jermelle Charlo, who turned out to be a tragic figure, and the fight did not do good numbers. For his next bouts, Canelo wanted Jermelle’s twin brother, Jermall, who hasn’t impressed lately, and Edgar Berlanga, who’s also not been stellar. And considering that neither one has a big following, plus Canelo’s $35 million minimum, those fights would be ruinous for PBC and their new broadcaster Amazon Prime.
Haymon offered Canelo $50 million to face David Benavidez on Cinco de Mayo, which would be a huge fight - Canelo, hailed by many as “The Best Mexican Fighter Ever” vs Benavidez, a young destructive force known as “The Mexican Monster.” It would be in the spirit of De La Hoya vs Chavez, a Mexican legend vs an ascending Chicano star.
Though Canelo should have fought Benavidez a while ago, the timing is great now. Benavidez has risen in popularity after two high profile victories over Plant and Andrade. The boxing public is demanding the fight.
According to Benavidez, Canelo’s team offered him $5 million, about half of what Canelo’s opponents are getting lately. Benavidez said they lowballed him, thinking he’d turn it down, so they’d have an excuse to duck him. Yet despite the money, he wanted the fight. He accepted their terms, but never heard back.
Not able to cut a deal, Canelo and Haymon agreed to terminate their contract, making Canelo a free agent. So he pitched his sitcom to DAZN and negotiated with another platform whose identity wasn’t made public. When those firms weren’t enthused, he met with Haymon again and signed on to fight Jaime Munguía on Cinco de Mayo.
Munguía is a good contender, but he’s at best #3, behind Benavidez and the talented Cuban, David Morrell. In fact, Christian M'billi, the dangerous French-Cameroonian, might be a tougher assignment than Munguía.
It is a fun fight. Munguía, a protégé of the great Erik Morales, is a big, strong, young, undefeated former champion from Tijuana. He doesn’t box like his mentor. He’s an energetic, intense power puncher. Munguía has shown more skill lately, after hiring Freddie Roach, but Canelo is the boxer in this match.
With his superior talent and sharp counterpunching, Canelo will exploit Munguía’s aggression, and win most rounds. The intriguing questions are: How well will they handle each other’s power? And if it gets into the later rounds, how much energy will Canelo have? He’s 33, but with a lot of mileage. Munguía, at 27, has the stamina.
The promise of a good fight with Munguía doesn’t change the fact that Canelo is continuing his ignoble avoidance of Benavidez. Yet, at the press conference on Tuesday, March 19, Canelo responded to the critics with surprisingly clever retorts.
When asked if he respected Mike Tyson’s opinion after Tyson criticized him for ducking Benavidez, Canelo responded, “I’d respect Tyson’s opinion if he was sober.” Tyson is a notorious marijuana enthusiast, and he is also the man who dubbed Benavidez “The Mexican Monster.”
Canelo said, “Benavidez has nothing to offer me. He brings nothing to the table, except for 25 more pounds on the night of the fight.” Then he said that he would fight Benavidez for “$150-$200 million.” Read into that whatever you like.
Pressed on why Munguía is a better opponent than Benavidez, Canelo said, “Because it’s a fight between two Mexicans.” Praise for Mexican boxing was one of the themes of the press conference. Fighters, promoters, and other speakers waxed romantically about the glorious history of intra-Mexican rivalries.
Of course, this was contradictory from Canelo, who had previously stated that because he represents Mexico, he didn’t want to fight other Mexicans, which was absurd, and not the good absurd, like Camus.
But deeper still, does Canelo think that Benavidez is not “really Mexican”? It was assumed that Canelo’s Mexican ban included Benavidez, a Mexican-American from Phoenix, Arizona. At this publication we attributed that to Canelo’s benevolence, as in this excerpt from Another Farce in Vegas, published October 11, 2023:
Most Mexicans don’t consider Mexican-Americans (pochos) to be 'really Mexican,' which is a valid position. Perhaps Canelo, with all his magnanimity, considers Benavidez 'really Mexican,' and thus, doesn’t want to fight him.
Now Canelo insists that fighting Munguía is better than taking on Benavidez because it will be two Mexicans in the ring, implying that Benavidez, The Mexican Monster, is not “really Mexican.” Does Canelo view him as just a common pocho? As you can see, this is a perplexing anthropological quagmire.
Those who are trapped in the Canelo Matrix say that with all his achievements, with his lofty place in the Hall of Fame secured, and with being in The Best Mexican Fighter Ever debate, Canelo has earned the right to fight whoever he wants at this stage of his career, and avoiding top fighters shouldn’t effect his legacy.
Boxing connoisseurs will not be persuaded by that reasoning. If you buy into that, then at least tell Canelo to not holdup the belts. If he’s not going to fight the best men in his division, then vacate the world titles. Benavidez has been his mandatory for a couple of years. If the sanctioning bodies had integrity, they would have stripped Canelo. But he brings in tons of money, and the executives are all about lucre.
His enablers also contend that Canelo’s moves are acceptable because other superstar boxers managed their careers just as carefully. But actually, we shouldn’t accept that. And fans who love the sport, who are not emotionally invested in any particular fighter, were critical of those other superstars as well.
Wearing a crown, acting like the sovereign ruler, yet avoiding the top contender for years, and then not fighting him, will taint Canelo’s legacy. If he fought Benavidez and lost, the public would respect that, because he’d go out like a warrior. But if he continues to pick opponents by calculating the most money for the least risk, he’ll go out as Canelo Inc., a soulless corporation.
© 2024 Francisco Alatorre