Tale of the Tape: Canelo Álvarez vs. Jaime Munguia

Here, we look at how Canelo Álvarez, one of the world's most popular fighters, stacks up against title challenger Jaime Munguia ahead of Saturday's fight for the undisputed super middleweight championship. Odds courtesy of theScore Bet.

Eight months after he last stepped into a ring, Álvarez returns to square off against the undefeated Munguia in Las Vegas.

The highly anticipated bout between the two Mexican fighters will take place one day before Cinco de Mayo, which has become a mainstay event date throughout Álvarez's storied career.

While fans clamored for "Cinnamon" to take on the super middleweight division's No. 1 contender, David Benavidez, the champ and trainer Eddy Reynoso have raved about facing a fellow hombre like Munguia during the yearly celebration of Mexico's victory over the second French Empire in 1862.

"More than anything, Jaime Munguia is a strong fighter," Reynoso told Premier Boxing Champions.

"He is a disciplined fighter. He is a very good Mexican fighter. A Mexican that always moves forward and never quits."

There are plenty of other reasons Reynoso praises Munguia. The son of former heavyweight fighter Jaime "Rambo" Munguia is 43-0 with 34 knockouts - including wins over Liam Smith, Sergiy Derevyanchenko, and John Ryder. He also had a strong amateur career, dominating several national tournaments in Mexico.

Munguia looked terrific in his last fight, knocking the now-retired Ryder down four times before the fight was stopped in the ninth round. Álvarez was unable to knock out Ryder, beating him by unanimous decision in May 2023.

Munguia's success didn't seem to faze Álvarez, with the undisputed titleholder saying he'd knock out his opponent within eight rounds.

That might be a tall task for Álvarez, who's gone to a decision in his last four fights, which included wins over Ryder, Jermell Charlo, and Gennady Golovkin, as well as a light heavyweight loss to Dmitry Bivol.

Knockouts aside, Álvarez looked terrific against Charlo in his last fight, using an aggressive approach to dominate the scorecards in a decisive win. If he fights similarly against Munguia - who's taller, has a reach advantage, and likes to walk forward and throw lots of punches - Las Vegas may be in for some fireworks.

Will Álvarez's dominance of the super middleweight division continue this weekend? Will he deliver in front of his loyal fans on what he considers the most important day of the year? Or will Munguia come out victorious and prove he's the division's greatest active Mexican fighter?

Las Vegas and the entire boxing world are in for a treat this weekend. It should be a barn burner.