Canelo Alvarez, the Cinco de Mayo king

Canelo Álvarez - Jaime Munguia live online, round by round, stats and updates

The 5th of May is a Mexican celebration with greater impact in the United States than in the south of Rio Grande. However, for Mexican boxers, it is a pride to fight on this day and Saul Canelo Alvarez, who will face Jaime Munguía this weekend at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, has ‘owned’ this day since he began fighting in the US.

The undisputed 168-pound champion has faced great boxers during his career, but on May 5 he has been in great fights, like his last one against a Mexican fighter, when he fought Julio César Chávez Jr. Here is a list of Canelo’s clashes:

José Miguel Cotto, his first rival on the Cinco de Mayo weekend

Canelo Álvarez’s first big fight on American soil took place in 2010. He was part of the undercard for the main event showdown between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and he faced Puerto Rican José Miguel Cotto. The fight was scheduled for 10 rounds at super welterweight, but the Mexican won in the ninth round by technical knockout. The Jalisco boxer sent his rival to the canvas in the second round and he finished ahead in all the judges’ scorecards.

Shane Mosley troubles Canelo

Two years later, in 2012, Canelo made the fourth defense of the World Boxing Council 154-pound belt against Shane Mosley on May 5. The Mexican’s name was already known in the boxing world and his fight was the co-main event of the main card fight where Mayweather Jr. defeated Miguel Cotto.

Álvarez defeated Sugar after going the distance, as the judges scored the fight 119-109, 119-109, and 118-110 despite suffering a cut on his left eye from a headbutt.

Canelo’s only fight in Houston

Canelo Álvarez has fought mainly in Las Vegas, but on May 9, 2015, he faced James Kirkland at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. The fight was short since the Mexican sent his rival to the canvas in the third round twice. The clash was stopped at 2:19 in that round. According to Houston’s demographic profile that year, the city had 2,298,628 inhabitants, of which 44.70% were Hispanic or Latino. Therefore, it made sense to offer a boxing card with many Mexican boxers.

Canelo knocks out Olympic medalist

Over the weekend of May 5, 2016, Canelo stepped into the ring at T-Mobile Arena to face Amir Khan in a defense fight for his WBC middleweight belt. The Olympic medalist in Athens 2004 was no match for Álvarez, who knocked him out cold in the sixth round with an overhand right.

Canelo Álvarez’s last fight against a Mexican boxer

Mexican boxers haven’t been a threat in recent years for Canelo Álvarez, as his last fight against a fellow countryman took place on May 6, 2017. The opponent was Julio César Chavez Jr. and the Jalisco native defeated him by unanimous decision with three 120-108 cards.

Cinco de Mayo before and after the coronavirus pandemic

Canelo had already won more than 50 fights by 2019 and his first bout of the year was on May 4 against Daniel Jacobs, an American boxer who was 35-2 before facing the Mexican. The fight was agreed to happen at middleweight with Alvarez defending the IBF, WBA, and WBC belts. The showdown was closer than expected and Canelo won by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. The scorecards gave him the win, 115-113, 115-113, and 116-112.

A year later the world of sport was partially stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic. By that time, Canelo had the opportunity to get into the ring against the Englishman Billy Joe Saunders on May 8, 2021. The Hertfordshire-bred talent withstood the punishment for eight rounds, but his corner thought it was too much and threw in the towel. That was Saunders’ last fight as a professional.

Defeat against Bivol at light heavyweight

Canelo has fought 64 times and has only been defeated twice. The first was against Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the second against Dmitry Bivol on May 7, 2022. The Mexican went up in weight to the light heavyweight category to challenge the Kyrgyz boxer for the WBA title. However, the weight affected his power and the champion outpointed Alvarez with three 115-113 cards.

Return to Mexico against Ryder

After 12 years without fighting in Mexico, Alvarez decided to return to his country to defend his undisputed super middleweight championship against John Ryder at the Akron Stadium, in Zapopan, Guadalajara. The American boxer was a better opponent than expected and managed to take Canelo’s punishment for 12 rounds, making it to the final bell.