Floyd SAYS He Couldn't Care Less About Manny…REALLY?

Published

12 years ago

May 4, 2012

Ron Borges

MayweatherPrepares4Cotto Blevins27 LAS VEGAS – How long of a shadow can a man standing 5-feet-6 ½ inches cast? If that man is Manny Pacquiao and you box for a living it is apparently a long, dark and foreboding one.

Even when faced with a formidable challenge and an earnest opponent like Miguel Cotto, Pacquiao is never far from Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s mind it seems, the latest example of that coming over the past two days when Mayweather has been obsessively talking about a guy he seems to have no intention of fighting.

Tomorrow, Mayweather will challenge the WBA’s junior middleweight champion at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The fight is expected to do big business, pay-per-view sales already projected at well over one million and perhaps, some claim, possibly challenging the all-time record of 2.4 million buys set by Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya nearly five years ago.

Unlike others in his powerful position (including Pacquiao), Mayweather has not used his influence in the marketplace to demand Cotto fight at a catch weight below the 154-pound limit, thus having to weaken himself to make the $11 million he’s guaranteed to receive for facing Mayweather. Mayweather could have done that, as Pacquiao has on numerous occasions of late, but he opted instead to fight at the division’s weight limit because, he says, he doesn’t believe catch weights are a fair way to operate. In a sense, it is that view of the marriage between boxing and fair play that keeps coming up whenever Mayweather speaks of Pacquiao, whether the world is listening to what he says or not.

“I’ve never fought a guy at a catchweight,’’ Mayweather said recently. “I don’t fight guys at catchweights. I don’t put plaster in my gloves (alluding to the disgraced Antonio Margarito, who was found in just such a circumstance before facing Shane Mosley several years ago and is suspected by Cotto of having done the same thing to him when he gave him a beating so severe Cotto quit by taking a knee late in the fight). These are things I don’t do because I’m not that type of guy.

“What I do is dedicate myself when it’s time to fight and that’s what I can say I do do. To each his own.’’

Fairness and boxing are two words not often mixed, especially at the sport’s highest level where leverage and power at the box office often allow one fighter to dictate to his opponents not only the site and time of a fight but also the size gloves used, the size of the ring and, too often, the size of his opponent regardless of what the rules of the sport allow.

What brings this all up when talk should be revolving around fighting Cotto, is Mayweather’s Tuesday afternoon rant in Las Vegas when he met with a small group of boxing writers and launched into a 15-minute soliloquy about not Cotto but Pacquiao, or at least his clearly held fear that Pacquiao may have used at some time or other some form of performance enhancing drugs.

At the moment Pacquiao has a pending defamation lawsuit against Mayweather, arguing that he has never tested positive for any form of PEDs and that Mayweather’s sometimes veiled and sometimes not so veiled accusations that he is suspect amount to his being defamed.

Perhaps he has, but it was Pacquiao who long refused to agree to random blood testing for PEDs as a condition of fighting Mayweather, although to be fair of late he has said he would agree to random testing up to the day of the fight. This was a problem because the only test able to discover use of human growth hormone and certain other PEDs is random blood testing. Refusal to agree to such testing, which is not mandated by most state athletic commissions, is not an admittance of anything to be sure but Mayweather argues PEDs have infected most of professional sports, including boxing, and he and others should stand up to assure as best they can that it not continue in a blood sport where the first aim is to render your opponent unconscious.

This is not a sport like baseball, where a juiced player simply hits a ball farther or throws it faster. It’s not even like football, at least in cities outside of New Orleans, where the aim is not to hurt the other opponent but rather to score more points that he does.

Only in boxing is the first aim to hurt your opponent. That being the obvious case, a strict effort to rid boxing of PEDs seems logical and frankly far from controversial. Yet because it has stood in the way of a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight it seems to have been twisted into a discussion of whether or not Mayweather is “afraid’’ to face Pacquiao.

This is ludicrous because, frankly, if he believes Pacquiao is using PEDs he damn well should be afraid of facing him. Second, Mayweather has for the past two years made it a condition of fighting him that both he and his opponent agree to random blood and urine testing right up to the fight. Mosley, an admitted former user himself, Victor Ortiz and now Cotto agreed and did so without incident. Mayweather beat the first two easily and is expected to do the same to Cotto Saturday night.

Yet the issue of Mayweather’s alleged “fear’’ of Pacquiao sent him into a rage on Tuesday when he told a small collection of writers in Las Vegas that, “Health is more important than anything because guess what? When my career is over, if I'm hurt because of something that has happened in a fight, I can't come to you and say, 'I need (money).'

“People say, 'We don't give a f— if he's taking or not; we just want to see the fight. We don't give a f— about your health and we don't give a f— about your family.' I care about my family. I love my family. They're going to be there when no one else is there. When my career is over, you're all going to move on to the next one.”

Mayweather is sadly right about that, just as he was about the way he views promoters like Bob Arum and Don King, who agree a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight would be the largest grossing event in boxing history.

“Don King and Bob Arum don't see out the eyes of a fighter because they're not a fighter,” Mayweather said Tuesday. “All they care about is some f—— money. I care about a fighter's well being because I am a fighter. I know how it is to have a broken rib the rest of your life. I know how it is to piss blood. You all don't know nothing about this.”

Soon after Mayweather questioned Pacquiao’s rapid rise in weight classes from the 106 pounds where he started to 154 pounds and now where he stands as the WBO’s welterweight champion and questioned not that he could do that but how he seemed to become more dominate as he moved up in weight, which is unusual. Since 2008, Pacquiao has won world titles in five different weight classes and stopped four of the nine opponents he’s faced.

Generally fighters who move up in weight may continue to be successful but they usually lose something. They lose most normally punching power and sometimes speed. To retain both is almost unprecedented and seems to have convinced Mayweather that there are reasons beyond Pacquiao’s obvious talent and work ethic for his rise.

To be fair about it that seems to be what Mayweather really fears. Not Pacquiao himself but something outside of Pacquiao that could both elevate his performance and threaten the health of an opponent.

“It took me years to get to here — years,” Mayweather raged Tuesday. “I'm going up in weight but I'm not walking through no damn fighters. (Pacquiao) is 106; now he decides to walk through (Miguel) Cotto? Cotto can't knock down (Shane) Mosley, but can he?

“This is how the world is, you get writers saying, 'Floyd is scared,' ” he said. “No, Floyd cares about his family. Floyd is smart. You all know for a fact I'm not scared. You all know that.”

Scared is an overused word in sports. Few athletes are “scared’’ of an opponent. The handlers around them might be because they don’t want to see their meal ticket punched to the point where his value in the market place is diminished but elite fighters do not know that type of fear.

What seems to be the case with Mayweather however is that he does fear the power of performance enhancing drugs because, as the name implies, they enhance unfairly an opponent’s ability to perform in the most dangerous sport in the world. That doesn’t mean Pacquiao is or ever has been a user. In fact, he can rightfully argue he’s been tested many times and never been found guilty of anything and has said he’s willing to go along now with Mayweather’s insistence on Olympic-style blood and urine testing.

What Mayweather keeps arguing for however is something different. He’s talking not only about protecting his own health but also about fighters taking a leadership role in a shadowy area of sport that has tainted baseball and the Olympic Games severely and other sports to lesser degrees as well.

“I think since I’m the face of boxing I have totally changed the sport of boxing I’m the reason why they don’t talk about heavyweights anymore,’’ Mayweather said last week. “I’m the one outside the box. I’m doing record turning numbers. So since I’m the face of the sport I should be always trying to change the sport and make the sport a lot better and the best thing is to always put every man on an even playing field.

“Everyone should be on an even playing field. That’s what I truly believe. I think that Manny Pacquiao has done a lot in the sport but he should also be standing behind me and say, ‘We should clean up the sport because I’m a clean athlete.’ I’m letting the world know Floyd Mayweather is a clean athlete and if you’re the best step up and take the test.’’

Tuesday Floyd Mayweather, Jr. ranted and raged about Pacquiao even though no one asked him about Pacquiao. For Mayweather, his nemesis seldom seems far from his thoughts even days before he will face a different man in the ring.

That may speak to fear, as some believe, but more likely it speaks to obsession and a growing weariness that he cannot seem to shake Pacquiao’s shadow nor convince the general public that he doesn’t need him to prove his own worth in boxing.

“I’m not saying nobody is, or nobody is not doing it,’’ Mayweather said Tuesday. “But my health is more important than anything.’’

Perhaps but soon after Mayweather was suggesting Pacquiao’s head size had increased even though he has no such knowledge but does understand that is one side effect of the use of human growth hormone.

In the end, Floyd Mayweather will fight and likely beat up Miguel Cotto Saturday night. He will very likely do it in one-sided fashion. Yet no matter what he does another man will be lurking in the shadows, peering over his shoulder, standing defiantly in every corner of the ring and in every corner of Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s boxing life.

“I don’t worry about that at all,’’ Mayweather told me last week when asked if he was disappointed that a fight with Pacquiao had not yet been arranged. “If it really was all about Pacquiao then I didn’t have to fight all 42 (previous) opponents. All I had to do was come to the sport of boxing and fight one guy. Then I would have went down as the best.

“So I guess the 42 guys that I’ve faced didn’t count. All I had to do was come into the sport of boxing and train for just one fight. Just train for one 12-round fight, beat that guy, then I was going down in history as the best. Now all of a sudden a guy comes out of nowhere and they say, ‘Well, Floyd, you’re not the best because you haven’t beaten this guy yet.’ Like I said before, Floyd Mayweather has to live for Floyd Mayweather and I’m happy. I could care less what Manny Pacquiao is doing.’’

If that’s the case, why’d he bring him up this week in the first place?

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Ron Borges

A Closer Look at the Weslaco ‘Heartbreaker’ and an Early Peek at Inoue-Nery

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2024

Arne K. Lang

A-Closer-look-at-the-Weslaco-Heartbreaker-and-an-Early-Peek-at-Inoue-Nery

Brandon Figueroa returns to the ring on Saturday after a 14-month absence. He meets Jessie Magdaleno in a 12-round featherweight affair at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with the winner potentially headed to a match with Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue. Figueroa vs. Magdaleno will be part of the four-fight pay-per-view telecast topped by Canelo Alvarez’s super middleweight title defense against Jaime Munguia.

Akin to Magdaleno, Figueroa (24-1-1, 18 KOs) is a former super bantamweight (122-pound) champion. He won the WBA version of the world title with a 10^th-round stoppage of Damien Vazquez and added the WBC belt with a seventh-round KO of previously undefeated Luis Nery who fights Inoue this coming Monday at the “Big Egg” in Tokyo.

Throughout history, many prominent boxers have been identified with the place that hewed them. Students of boxing history can identify the Saginaw Kid, the Terror Haute Terror, the Cincinnati Cobra – the list is long – and even casual fans can name the Brockton Blockbuster, the immortal Rocky Marciano.

Brandon Figueroa hails from Weslaco, a small city in the southern tip of Texas. It is part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, commonly abbreviated RGV, and the locals feel an emotional tie to the entire valley, a place where the unofficial language among the adult population is Spanglish, a melding of Spanish and English.

Brandon’s older brother Omar Figueroa Jr, who retired in 2022 with a record of 28-3-1 after losing his last three fights, became a local hero after becoming the first boxer from the Valley to win a world title, in his case the WBC lightweight diadem. Brandon, 27, has the opportunity to out-do him by becoming the first boxer from the Valley to win titles in two weight divisions.

The brothers were introduced to boxing by their father, Omar Figueroa Sr. A mailman now in his twenty-seventh year working for the U.S. Postal Service, the elder Figueroa never boxed but followed the sport closely and hoped that one of his sons would follow in the footsteps of his sporting heroes Julio Cesar Chavez and the late Salvador Sanchez. Brandon borrowed a page from the Chavez playbook when he scored his signature win over Luis Nery. A left to the solar plexus ended the match. Nery replied with a sweeping left hook, but it was all instinct. In a delayed reaction, he crumpled to the canvas after launching the errant punch and was counted out.

Although Omar Sr has a picture in his cell phone of Brandon in fighting togs when Brandon was two years old, he insists that he discouraged his younger son from pursuing a career in boxing. “He was too skinny and didn’t have Omar’s natural talent,” the elder Figueroa told this reporter when we chatted at Las Vegas’ Pound4Pound Boxing Gym. “Then, when Brandon was about 12 or 13, he started hurting bigger boys with punches to the body in sparring and I thought, hold on, maybe I have something here.”

Omar Sr. opened a gym, Pantera Boxing, to give his sons a leg up and eventually enough kids from the neighborhood started coming by to field an amateur boxing team.

Omar Figueroa Sr was born in Northern Mexico and came to the United States at age nine. Many of his siblings – he was one of nine children — reside in Mexico but close enough for family get-togethers. The Figueroa family has crossed the international bridge that connects the two countries on many occasions. Returning to Weslaco, they share the span with border-crossers seeking refuge in the United States.

“One of the things I’ve noticed,” says Brandon, “is that there are a lot more Europeans crossing over that bridge into the U.S. than we used to see, especially people from countries like Russia and Ukraine.”

About that nickname: Brandon acquired it while visiting relatives in Rio Bravo, Mexico, situated roughly 18 miles from Weslaco. He was just a boy, perhaps 11 or 12, and it was teenage or pre-teen girls who affixed the “Heartbreaker” label to him. Indeed, in the looks department, he could give Ryan Garcia a run for his money. (Back off, ladies, Brandon has a steady girlfriend.)

Brandon Figueroa doesn’t want boxing to define him. “I’m also a businessman,” he says, noting that he owns several parcels of Weslaco real estate and owns stock in one of his sponsors, LOCK’DIN, a start-up, high-performance beverage company whose Board of Directors includes Manny Pacquiao.

Brandon Pacquiao

In high school, Brandon took classes in theater. He has a role in a forthcoming Amazon Prime movie, “Find Me,” and a starring role in the first episode of the reconstituted “Tales from the Crypt” which will air on HBO Max.

When Brandon quits boxing, will Hollywood beckon? “I can’t imagine settling down anywhere but in the Valley,” he says. “The Valley will always be a part of me.”

In his last outing, Figueroa won an interim WBC featherweight title with a lopsided decision over Mark Magsayo. In theory, that boosted him into a fight with Rey Vargas who was allowed to keep his WBC featherweight title after moving up to 130 where he suffered his first defeat at the hands of O’Shaquie Foster. But in boxing, “money” trumps “mandatory” and Vargas jumped at the chance to fight in Saudi Arabia where he was fortunate to retain his title when he received a draw in his match with Liverpool’s Nick Ball.

The most lucrative fight out there would be a match with four-belt super bantamweight champion and pound-for-pound king Naoya Inoue who has expressed an interest in moving up to featherweight after disposing of Luis Nery. Yes, that’s putting the cart before the horse, but Brandon Figueroa thinks the challenger from Tijuana, despite his impressive record (35-1-1, 27 KOs) has scant chance of winning. “I found a hole in Nery’s style,” he said, “and knew that once fatigue set in for him, he would be mine.”

Inoue vs. Nery is a very big deal in Japan in part because there’s a hero and a villain. Luis Nery is the only man to defeat the popular Shinsuke Yamanaka, a long-reigning title-holder who quit the sport after Nery knocked him out twice. After their first meeting, Nery’s “A” and “B” samples tested positive for a banned substance and he came in three pounds overweight for the rematch (a substantial edge in a small weight class), for which he was suspended and dropped from the WBC rankings. Nery, wrote TSS correspondent Tamas Pradarics, “repeatedly cheated on the Japanese in ugly and disgusting ways,” and the Japanese haven’t forgotten.

If Brandon Figueroa goes off to Japan some day to oppose Naoya Inoue, it will take some doing to contort him into a villain. “I love the Japanese people and the Japanese culture,” he says, “the whole Samurai thing which is so in tune with the warrior spirit of Mexicans.”

—

The pay-per-view portion of Saturday’s show is available for purchase on various cable and satellite platforms including Prime Video, DAZN.com, and PPV.com. First bell is slated for 8 pm ET/5 pm PT.

Brandon Figueroa vs. Jessie Magdaleno will be the second bout on the four-fight PPV program. It will follow the WBA world welterweight title fight between Eimantas Stanionis and Gabriel Maestre and will precede the WBC interim world welterweight title fight between Mario Barrios and Fabian Maidana.

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Ramirez Outpoints Barthelemy and Vergil Ortiz Scores Another Fast KO in Fresno

Published

4 days ago

April 27, 2024

David A. Avila

Ramirez-Outpoints-Barthelemy-and-Vergil-Ortiz-Scores-Another-Fast-KO-in-Fresno

Northern California favorite Jose Ramirez avoided an upset and knockout artist Vergil Ortiz destroyed his opponent on Saturday to set up a showdown with Australia’s power-punching Tim Tszyu.

After a 13-month layoff Ramirez (29-1, 18 KOs) shook off ring rust and avoided an upset by Cuba’s Rances Barthelemy (30-3-1, 15 KOs) in a battle between former world champions at Save Mart Center in Fresno.

It was Ramirez’s first bout under Golden Boy Promotions and he was nearly derailed by the slick counter-punching southpaw in the third and six rounds with laser left counters that connected every time. Though he was floored in the third round it was ruled a push down by referee Jack Reiss.

Fans gasped.

“He throws that left hand and I got hit with it in one round,” Ramirez said. “It motivated him.”

Once Ramirez figured out the remedy, he kept the fight inside and attacked the body and head. Barthelemy was unable to uncork one of his long lefts at close distance.

From the seventh round on the former super lightweight champion took control and kept the Cuban fighter against the ropes and unloaded shots to the body and head. He nearly forced a stoppage in the 11^th round.

Barthelemy survived but all three judges scored it big for Ramirez after 12 rounds: 119-109 twice and 118-110.

Vergil KOs Number 21

Knowing a win sets up a massive showdown against Aussie slugger Tim Tszyu, the Texas slugger Vergil Ortiz (21-0, 21 KOs) wasted no time in blasting out Puerto Rico’s Thomas Dulorme (26-7-1, 17 KOs) with a perfectly placed left hook to the body. Dulorme collapsed to the ground in agony.

Referee Tom Taylor stopped counting at 2:39 of the first round.

“It was a very calculated punch,” Ortiz said.

It was a commanding one round performance that sets up the showdown against the equally powerful Tszyu who despite losing a split decision to Sebastian Fundora last month by split decision, retains his reputation as a dangerous puncher.

Ortiz, who has 21 knockouts in 21 fights, will probably be fighting Tszyu in Los Angeles on June 1 if all negotiations go smoothly.

“Tim (Tszyu) I know you are watching the fight,” said Ortiz. “I’m ready. Let’s put on a great performance.”

Other Bouts

Oscar Duarte (27-2-1, 22 KOs) proved his knockout loss against Ryan Garcia would not stop him from improving as he defeated Jojo Diaz (33-6-1) by knockout at 2:32 of the ninth round in a super lightweight match. Referee Michael Margado wisely stopped the bludgeoning as a towel came flying in almost simultaneously.

It was the first time Diaz was ever defeated by knockout, though he never touched the canvas. It was also the first time Duarte trained with Robert Garcia and the difference was notable as he repeatedly walked through incoming fire and attacked the smaller fighter continuously.

“I want to fight the best in the world,” Duarte said.

Female Title Fight

A rematch battle for the flyweight championship saw Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz (15-1) defeat Marlen Esparza (14-2) this time with a two-fisted attack to win by split decision after 10 rounds.

Esparza failed to make weight and walked in three pounds overweight and Alaniz took advantage to win the WBA, WBC, and WBO flyweight titles in the rematch. Once again the scores were puzzling but this time in favor of Alaniz 97-93, 96-94, and 92-98.

Alaniz now holds the WBO, WBA, WBC flyweight world titles.

Welterweights

Mexico’s Raul Curiel (15-0, 13 KOs) busted body shots on Jorge Marron Jr. (20-5-2) and floored him twice in the first round. The second body blow left Marron paralyzed and unable to continue at 1:31 of the first round as referee Thomas Taylor counted him out.

Curiel, who is managed by Frank Espinoza and son, proved he’s ready for the upper levels of the welterweight division.

“I think I’m ready for the bigger names,” Curiel said. “You see the results.”

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 282: Ryan’s Song, Golden Boy in Fresno and More

Published

6 days ago

April 26, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 282: Ryan’s Song, Golden Boy in Fresno and More

Don’t call it an upset.

Days after Ryan Garcia proved the experts wrong, those same experts are re-tooling their evaluation processes.

It’s mind-boggling to me that 95 percent thought Garcia had no chance. Hear me out.

First, Garcia and Haney fought six times as amateurs with each winning three. But this time with no head gear and smaller gloves, Garcia had to have at least a 50/50 chance of winning. He is faster and a more powerful puncher.

Facts.

Haney is a wonderful boxer with smooth, almost artistic movements. But history has taught us power and speed like Garcia’s can’t be discounted. Think way back to legendary fighters like Willie Pep and Sandy Sadler. All that excellent defensive skill could not prevent Sadler from beating Pep in three of their four meetings.

Power has always been an equalizer against boxing skill.

Ben Lira, one of the wisest and most experienced trainers in Southern California, always professed knockout power was the greatest equalizer in a fight. “You can be behind for nine rounds and one punch can change the outcome,” he said.

Another weird theory spreading before the fight was that Garcia would quit in the fight. That was a puzzling one. Getting stopped by a perfect body shot is not quitting. And that punch came from Gervonta “Tank” Davis who can really crack.

So how did Garcia do it?

In the opening round Ryan Garcia timed Devin Haney’s jab and countered with a snapping left hook that rattled and wobbled the super lightweight champion. After that, Garcia forced Haney to find another game plan.

Garcia and trainer Derrick James must have worked hours on that move.

I must confess that I first saw Garcia’s ability many years ago when he was around 11 or 12. So I do have an advantage regarding his talent. A few things I noticed even back then were his speed and power. Also, that others resented his talent but respected him. He was the guy with everything: talent and looks.

And that brings resentment.

Recently I saw him and his crew rapping a song on social media. Now he’s got a song. Next thing you know Hollywood will be calling and he’ll be in the movies. It’s happened before with fighters such as Art Aragon, the first Golden Boy in the 50s. He was dating movie stars and getting involved with starlets all over Hollywood.

Is history repeating itself or is Garcia creating a new era for boxing?

Since 2016 people claimed he was just a social media creation. Now, after his win over Devin Haney a former undisputed lightweight champion and the WBC super lightweight titleholder, the boxer from the high desert area of Victorville has become one of the highest paid fighters in the world.

Ryan Garcia has entered a new dimension.

Golden Boy Season

After several down years the Los Angeles-based company Golden Boy Promotions suddenly is cracking the whip in 2024.

Avila

Vergil Ortiz Jr. (20-0, 20 KOs) returns to the ring and faces Puerto Rico’s Thomas Dulorme (26-6-1, 17 KOs) a welterweight gatekeeper who lost to Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Eimantas Stanionis. They meet as super welterweights in the co-main event at Save Mart Arena in Fresno, Calif. on Saturday, April 27. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card live.

It’s a quick return to action for Ortiz who is still adjusting to the new weight division. His last fight three months ago ended in less than one round in Las Vegas. It was cut short by an antsy referee and left Ortiz wanting more after more than a year of inactivity in the prize ring.

Ortiz has all the weapons.

Also, Northern California’s Jose Carlos Ramirez (28-1, 18 KOs) meets Cuba’s Rances Barthelemy (30-2-1, 15 KOs) in a welterweight affair set for 12 rounds.

It’s difficult to believe that former super lightweight titlist Ramirez has been written off by fans after only one loss. That was several years ago against Scotland’s Josh Taylor. One loss does not mean the end of a career.

“My goal is to get back on top and to get all those belts back. I still feel like I am one of the best 140-pounders in the division,” said Ramirez who lives in nearby Avenal, Calif.

An added major attraction features Marlen Esparza in a unification rematch against Gabriela “La Chucky” Alaniz for the WBA, WBC, WBO flyweight titles. Their first fight was

a controversial win by Esparza that saw one judge give her nine of 10 rounds in a very close fight. Those Texas judges.

In a match that could steal the show, Oscar Duarte (26-2-1, 21 KOs) faces former world champion Jojo Diaz (33-5-1, 15 KOs) in a lightweight match.

Munguia and Canelo

Don’t sleep on this match.

Its current Golden Boy fighter Jaime Munguia facing former Golden Boy fighter Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in a battle between Mexico’s greatest sluggers next week at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 4.

“I think Jaime Munguia is going to do something special in the ring,” said Oscar De La Hoya, the CEO for Golden Boy.

Tijuana’s Munguia showed up at the Wild Card Boxing gym in Hollywood where a throng of media from Mexico and the US met him.

Munguia looked confident and happy about his opportunity to fight great Canelo.

“It’s a hard fight,” said Munguia. “Truth is, its big for Mexico and not only for Mexicans but for boxing.”

Fights to Watch

Fri. DAZN 6 p.m. Yoeniz Tellez (7-0) vs Joseph Jackson (19-0).

Sat. DAZN 9:30 a.m. Peter McGrail (8-1) vs Marc Leach (18-3-1); Beatriz Ferreira (4-0) vs Yanina Del Carmen 14-3).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Vergil Ortiz (20-0) vs Thomas Dulorme (26-6-1); Jose Carlos Ramirez (28-1) vs Rances Barthelemy (30-2-1); Marlen Esparza (14-1) vs Gabriela Alaniz (14-1).

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy Promotions

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