Tom Leffler, former promoter of Gennadiy Golovkin, recalled under what circumstances his ward's fight with Jaime Munguia was derailed.
"Everything was negotiated and signed by Munguia for the biggest fee of his career. HBO PPV and MGM Grand liked GGG fighting an undefeated Mexican puncher with a record of 28-0, 24 KOs on "Cinco de Mayo" as Canelo's replacement.The day before we were going to announce the fight, Bob Bennett of the Nevada Commission derailed it with one of the most bizarre decisions I've seen from a commissioner. I checked with the other major commissions and they had no problem approving it at all. At his age of 36, GGG was no longer the youngest, and Jaime was physically bigger - he was fighting now at 168 pounds. Munguia had already trained and won the world title that same month, proving our point that he was a world class boxer and was worthy of fighting! Bob took away the big fight at Cinco de Mayo in Las Vegas in 2018 from GGG, Munguia and the fans...," said the functionary.
Tim Tszyu, former world champion in the first middleweight, did not speak too flatteringly about modern boxing. He compared it to reality TV, writing a post on social media about it.
"There's too much drama in boxing right now. It looks like some kind of reality show. Like 'The Kardashian Family' or something like that..." - wrote Tszyu.
His last fight Tszyu held at the end of March this year, losing by decision to Sebastian Fundora. At stake in that fight were the WBC and WBO middleweight championship belts. This defeat was the first in the professional career of the Australian boxer. Now his record is 24-1, 17 KOs.
Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has admitted that he wants a boxing match with the legendary Manny Pacquiao one day.
On the night of May 5, Las Vegas will host an evening of boxing headlined by a bout between Saul Alvarez and Jaime Munguia. The preliminary card starts at 01:00. The main card will start at 03:00. Below is the link to the broadcast and the event card:
Main card
Saul Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) - Jaime Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs)
Mario Barrios (28-2, 18 KOs) - Fabian Maidana (22-2, 16 KOs)
Brandon Figueroa (24-1-1, 18 KOs) - Jessie Magdaleno (29-2, 18 KOs)
Eimantas Stanyonis (14-0, 9 KOs) - Gabriel Maestre (6-0-1, 5 KOs)
Vito Melnicki, Jr. (17-1, 12 KOs) - Ronald Cruz (19-3-1, 12 KOs)
Jesus Ramos (20-1, 16 KOs) - Johan Gonzalez (34-2, 33 KOs)
Tentative card
Alan David Picasso (27-0-1, 15 KOs) - Damien Vazquez (17-3-1, 9 KOs)
Gabriel Valenzuela (28-3-1, 17 KOs) - Jose Angulo (16-8, 9 KOs)
William Skull (21-0, 9 KOs) - Sean Hemphill (16-1, 10 KOs)
Jabine Chollet (9-0, 7 KOs) - Julian Bridges (4-0, 2 KOs)
Adrian Torres (7-0, 6 KOs) - Arsen Poghosyan (3-1-1, 2 KOs)
Shane Mosley has dismissed speculation that Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will step into Saturday's fight with Jaime Munguia, already on the decline of his career. At the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on the occasion of Cinco de Mayo, Alvarez will defend his outright super middleweight title against fellow Mexican Jaime Munguia, who at 27 is six years younger than him.
Alvarez's defeat to Dmitry Bivol in May 2022 sparked speculation that his career was on the decline, and his three opponents since then - Gennadiy Golovkin, John Ryder and Jermell Charlo - have all survived 12 rounds with him.
Mosley went the full distance with Alvarez in 2012 when the Mexican was quickly earning his reputation, and after finishing his career and watching Alvarez establish himself as a top fighter in the world, Mosley believes he will continue to improve his skills.
At the peak of his career, some boxing analysts considered Mosley to be the best fighter in the world. Mosley spoke favorably of Munguia, but said the following about the champion: "He's still got a lot of power. He's only 33. At 46, I'm still fighting, so he's fine. But I think Munguia is also very good. It should be a pretty interesting fight. I think it's going to be a great fight and I'm looking forward to seeing it - I think it's going to be interesting."
"Counterpunching and speed is on Alvarez's side. He's very fast in counterattacks and he knows when to punch and when not to punch. He's a very good boxer. Munguia is a fighter. He likes to get into exchanges and on the offensive. He's tall, long-armed, has good speed and power and he's very difficult to fight."
"I've always thought he's an interesting fighter, but Freddie Roach with his vast experience and other trainers might be able to steer him in a different direction and make his punches hit better. Maybe he can find the right rhythm and timing with Freddie Roach."
"I give Canelo the edge because he has a lot of experience, but I think Munguia will give him some problems and win some rounds. So we'll see what happens. Anything can happen in this fight. It could be points or it could be a knockout. The fight could go either way. Either one is capable of winning on points or by knockout."
Mosley defeated Oscar De La Hoya twice before later working with him at 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.
Renowned promoter Frank Warren, who promotes the career of Tyson Fury, explained why he has no doubts about his client's victory in the upcoming fight for the title of absolute world champion in the heavyweight division against Oleksandr Usyk.
"A few years ago, when Fury fought Klitschko, it was pure boxing. Tyson came out and gave him a boxing lesson in his second homeland. After his second fight with Wilder, he changed his style, now he comes forward and throws punches. He has shown that he is a good puncher.
I think that's what will happen to Usik. He's going to beat him at his own game. Because he is very, very smart," - quotes Warren Sky Sports.
Recall that the British and Ukrainian will fight on May 18 in Riyadh.
WBC, WBO and IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev has been injured and will not be able to fight WBA belt holder Dmitry Bivol on June 1 in Saudi Arabia as scheduled.
According to insider Mike Coppinger, the Canadian boxer has a torn meniscus. It is expected that he will be able to return to the ring no earlier than September.
The information was later confirmed by the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, Turki Al Al-Sheikh:
"After receiving today's news about Beterbiev's injury, we will postpone this fight until later this year. I wish my brother Artur a speedy recovery. However, the 5 on 5 tournament will still take place on June 1," he wrote in X.
Popular American Influencer and boxer Jake Paul has spoken out regarding his upcoming fight against legendary compatriot Mike Tyson.
The fight, which will be a professional fight and will take place within the heavyweight division, will take place on July 20 in Arlington, USA.
"The fight is professional and now it's a war. If Mike likes this status of the fight, I do too. I wanted Tyson to be the one to make this fight official because I respect him as a legend. If he knocks me out, I can handle it. But really, my professional record is on the line now, so I'm going to go out there and put him the fuck down! If that pisses you off, then watch soccer," Paul said on his podcast.
Saul Alvarez, the outright super middleweight champion of the world, reacted to the news that Ryan Garcia failed a doping test ahead of his fight with Devin Haney, the WBC bantamweight champion of the world. Canelo urged not to judge Ryan ahead of time.
"I advise everybody to wait. Don't judge ahead of time. We need to wait and see what happened and then we can discuss it," Alvarez told YouTube channel Fight Hub TV.
The bout between Garcia and Haney took place on April 21, ending with Ryan winning by majority decision. At the same time, Haney retained the championship belt, because Garcia failed the weigh-in before the fight.
Former world champions Tony Bellew and Carl Froch disagreed on who they would choose as their opponent among current flyweight leaders Artur Beterbiev and Bivol.
Tony Bellew: "Bivol. Bivol, by all means. Who would you rather fight?"
Carl Froch: "I think Bivol is too hard to beat. I'd rather stand across from Beterbiev and put up a fight because he's missing and I'd have my chances against an opponent I can hit. I just don't think I could hit Bivol. He's too smart, isn't he? Bivol is fast, he's smart, he moves. But if I was at the right weight for me, I liked fighting boxers. Stylistically, Beterbiev sets traps, and if only you fall into one of them, you're on the canvas, you get lights out. Beterbiev is a welterweight with the hardest punch since Adonis Stevenson."
