Boxing star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and undefeated contender Jaime Munguia made Grand Arrivals in Las Vegas for their highly anticipated clash on Saturday, May 4 at T-Mobile Arena. The pair battles it out on Cinco de Mayo weekend headlining a four-fight card live on pay-per-view.
Undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco makes the fourth defense of his WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO belts. Former super welterweight champion Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California looks to earn world title in his second weight class.
“This is a very significant and historic fight with two Mexicans fighting for all four belts for the first time,” Canelo said. “I’m looking to leave my mark and put my country up high.”
“This is going to be an interesting fight and we’re going to come after him,” Munguia said. “We’re going to look for him in the ring, and in the end it’s going to be an amazing fight for the fans.”
The Grand Arrivals also featured San Antonio’s interim WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios (28-2, 18 KOs) and challenger Fabian Andres Maidana (22-2, 16 KOs) of Argentina. The fighters previewed their co-main event clash and went face to face.
Brandon Figueroa (24-1-1, 18 KOs) of Weslaco, Texas also made Grand Arrival for his interim WBC featherweight title defense against former world champion Jessie Magdaleno (29-2, 18 KOs) of Las Vegas. There was no faceoff, as the latter didn’t make his appearance at the Fight Week kickoff event.
Lithuania’s WBA welterweight titleholder Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs) and two-time Olympian Gabriel Maestre (6-0-1, 5 KOs) of Venezuela faced off and previewed their bout. The contest serves as the Canelo vs Munguia PPV opener.
Headlining Canelo vs Munguia prelims, Jesus Ramos (20-1, 16 KOs) of Casa Grande, Arizona takes on Las Vegas-based Johan Gonzalez (34-2, 33 KOs) of Venezuela. Also on the card, Vito Mielnicki Jr (17-1, 12 KOs) of Belleville, New Jersey goes up against Ronald Cruz (19-3-1, 12 KOs) of Los Angeles. Both bouts are scheduled for 10 rounds at welterweight.