Hot on the heels of beating Jaime Munguia, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez refuses to say whether he’ll fight David Benavidez, despite it being the bout everyone wants to see.
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez had another solid night in the ring on Cinco De Mayo weekend as he defeated Jaime Munguia via unanimous decision to retain his unified super middleweight title.
The judges saw it 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112 for Alvarez, but when you’re as good as Canelo you can still get criticized. During the post-fight press conference, a reporter asked him whether he was disappointed that he didn’t manage to finish Munguia, especially after knocking the younger fighter down in the fourth round with an uppercut (watch the highlights here).
“I couldn’t finish the fight, but I took my time,” Alvarez said. “That’s why we fought rounds, to see who’s the best. I take my time, and I don’t want to make mistakes. So I did what I was supposed to do to win, and you know Munguia is a good fighter and I gotta be careful with that. And I just take my time.”
?? Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez having an exchange after Canelo’s win over Jaime Munguia…
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“He’s strong, he’s smart. But he’s a little slow,” he added regarding the knockdown. “So I can do things fast and throw my punches and combinations. I can throw them everywhere, and then I feinted and got that uppercut. But you need to work to get that kind of combination.”
Canelo praised Munguia’s tenacity and spirit as the fight wore on, and said it would be a valuable learning experience for the 27 year old — something his former promoter Oscar De La Hoya agreed with.
As for what’s next, Alvarez refused to say. The obvious opponent would be David Benavidez, the 28-0 WBC interim super middleweight champion everyone wants to see Canelo fight. But he wouldn’t commit to anything despite the two sharing an intense exchange following his fight.
In a video captured by Box Axteca, a smirking Canelo gestured to Benavidez and then pointed to the canvas in the ring. Standing a few rows back from ringside, Benavidez held his hands up, welcoming the challenge.
“We’ll see. We’ll see,” Canelo said during the presser. “I’m gonna rest and talk to my team. And like I say, everybody is asking for everything, and I always did [everything]. I always fight with everybody you asking [me to]. But right now I’m in the position where I can ask, too. I’m in the position where I can ask too, and I can do whatever I want.”
“We’ll see what happens next.”