LAS VEGAS – Jaime Munguia has vowed to knock out Saul “Canelo” Alvarez after hearing the undisputed super middleweight champion predict that he will stop him inside eight rounds.
At Tuesday’s grand arrivals at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand – on Saturday they will contest Alvarez’s title at T-Mobile Arena – Alvarez insisted that he will earn his first stoppage victory since that over Caleb Plant in 2021.
During Wednesday’s final press conference, it instead became Oscar De La Hoya, Munguia’s co-promoter and the former promoter of Alvarez, who drew Alvarez’s attention in what became increasingly heated scenes.
Tom Brown, the co-promoter of Saturday’s fight, stood between them when the 33-year-old Alvarez moved to confront De La Hoya. But when Munguia was invited to speak about what represents the biggest opportunity of his career – which falls on the occasion of Cinco de Mayo weekend – having previously spoken of preparing to “out-think” Alvarez, he insisted that he is relishing a physical fight.
“Outside the ring, he has all my respect,” the 27-year-old Munguia said of his fellow Mexican. “Inside the ring, the respect goes out the window – which is what’s going to happen on Saturday night. When we step in there, it’s a war.
“I like the fact that he thinks that way. I like the fact that he wants to knock me out, but I come with the same mentality. I think the same as him, but the other way around, and I’m gonna knock him out. It’s going to be a great fight, and you never know what can happen.
“I’m so happy, so excited. It’s almost fight day. I want to thank my team for being behind me the whole way. You can expect an all-out Mexican war. So tune in. You’re not going to be disappointed, and I’m looking for what’s going to be a great fight on Saturday night.
“Canelo has a great deal of experience. He has gone up against great fighters. I may not have that resume where I’ve gone up against so many great fighters, but what I do have is youth on my side, and what I want to do is be able to showcase my abilities and what I’m able to do inside the ring to be able to come out with the win in the end.
“I feel happy, very proud of myself and the team that has brought me along to this point, because everything we have done has brought us here, and that fills me with pride.
“I’ve come here to win. It’s going to be a tough fight, but in the end it’s going to be my hand raised.”
Saturday’s fight is Munguia’s second since the great Freddie Roach succeeded Erik Morales as his trainer. His first, in January against John Ryder, ended in a ninth-round stoppage victory; in May 2023 Alvarez struggled to impress against Ryder when he earned a unanimous decision over 12 rounds.
“I feel great training with Freddie,” Munguia said. “He’s not only a great trainer, he’s a great person as well. We’ve worked on so much in our training camp, which has been amazing. You’re going to see on Saturday night everything that we’ve learned throughout this preparation, and the fans are going to be pleased."
“My fighter Jaime’s doing really well, and we had a great training camp for this fight,” added Roach. “He’s really on top of the game right now, and we’re ready for this fight. Canelo’s a very tough opponent, and we know that, and we’re ready for whatever he brings to the table. He’s going to be the best.
“The difference is his work ethic. Training every day, sparring partners – we had six sparring partners for this camp and we went through all of them. He just did really well and he’s ready for this fight. He’s a winner and he’s gonna show it.”
