SPORTS FACTS AND FIGURES 54: CANELO ALVAREZ PARTS WAYS WITH PREMIER BOXING CHAMPIONS
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 01 Mar 2024
The three-fight deal which was signed last June between Mexican boxing sensation Saul Canelo Alvarez and Premier Boxing Champions is finished after one fight, according to ESPN boxing reporter Dan Rafael.
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Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs), who defended his undisputed super middleweight championship in October by dominating Jermell Charlo, is still expected to fight on May 4 during Cinco de Mayo weekend, but the probable opponents might have changes after his breakout with PBC. The reason for Alvarez's exit was not disclosed and PBC founder Al Haymon is silent about it.
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Boxing fans wanted Canelo to fight either David Benavidez or Terence Crawford, but Alvarez seemed inclined to face unbeaten Mexican slugger and former junior middleweight champion Jaime Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs) in Las Vegas, as reported by ESPN Mexico's Salvador Rodriguez.
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Munguia has just seized two biggest victories in his latest fight. The native of Tijuana, who is now trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach, won a close decision over former title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko of Ukraine last June 10 then knocked John Ryder out in nine rounds on January 27. Alvarez won by unanimous decision over Ryder on May 6, 2023.
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Premier Boxing Champions was prepared to give what Canelo Alvarez demanded as his guaranteed purse for a fight with Jermall Charlo on May 4, but the condition is he had to agree to fight David Benavidez in September. However, Canelo chose not to agree to the bargain.
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Benavidez was not included in the original three fighters that Canelo had agreed to fight in his three-fight deal with PBC. His first bout was against Jermell Charlo on September 30, 2023. The second match would have been against his twin brother, Jermall. It was circulating that the third fight that Canelo wanted was against Jaime Munguia this coming September, which is not on the magnitude of the Benavidez bout.
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It was reported by Boxing News 24, that PBC likely would lose some money if they would give Canelo his guaranteed $35 million for a fight against Jermall Charlo for May 4, but they could get their money back if Canelo-Benavidez would push through in September.
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Canelo would not accept a smaller guaranteed purse for the Jermall fight, but that problem could be solved if he would agree to face Benavidez in September. Canelo is not amenable to the deal offered by PBC, and obviously, he did not want to fight the more dangerous Benavidez.
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David Benavidez, age 27, of Phoenix, Arizona, USA, is a two-time WBC super middleweight champion from 2017 to 2018 and again from 2019 to 2020. He won his first title at age 20 years, eight months, three weeks and one day old. Benavidez holds the record as the youngest super middleweight title holder in boxing history.
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Benavidez faced Romanian challenger Ronald Gavril last September 8 for the world title at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Nevada. Benavidez defeated Gavril after 12 rounds by split decision. Two judges scored the fight 117–111, 116–111 for Benavidez, while the third scored it 116–111 for Gavril.
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On February 17, 2018 their rematch took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Paradise, Nevada. Before 6,240 fans, Benavidez dominated every round, winning via unanimous decision with the scores 120–108, 120–108 and 119–109.
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On September 18, 2018, it was reported that Benavidez had tested positive for cocaine from a urine sample collected on August 27 by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA). He was consequently stripped of his title and was penalized with a four-month suspension until February 2019 by the WBC. He returned to the ring on March 16, 2019.
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Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, age 33 of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico held multiple world championships in four weight classes from light middleweight to light heavyweight, including unified titles in three of those weight classes and lineal titles in two. Alvarez also called "The Face of Boxing" is the first and only boxer in history to become undisputed champion at super middleweight, having held the World Boxing Association (WBA) (Super version), World Boxing Council (WBC) and Ring magazine titles since 2020, and the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) titles since 2021.
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Sports History: February 28, 2009. Juan Manuel Marquez defeated Juan Diaz via 9th-round TKO to capture the WBA and WBO lightweight titles. Marquez landed two solid rights to Diaz's face in a three-punch combination that knocked Diaz down with 35 seconds remaining in the ninth round. Diaz got up and Marquez followed with a right uppercut to the chin that knocked Diaz down for a second time. Referee Rafael Ramos stopped the fight after two minutes and 40 seconds of the ninth round.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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