Akukul KO Saul Canelo Alvarez

Jaime Munguia vows to knockout Saul Canelo Alvarez after hearing the undisputed super middleweight world champion predict that he would stop him in eight rounds. On Tuesday’s arrival at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas – on Saturday they will fight for Saul Canelo Alvarez’s title at the T-Mobile Arena – Alvarez insisted he was on course for his first knockout win since a win over Caleb Plant in 2021.

In the final press conference on Wednesday, Oscar de la hoya , Munguia’s co-promoter and former promoter Saul Canelo Alvarez, actually caught the champion’s attention in an increasingly heated atmosphere. Tom Brown, the co-promoter of Saturday’s fight, stood between them as the 33-year-old Canelo moved to face De La Hoya. But when Munguia was invited to speak on what represents the biggest occasion of his career – which falls on Cinco de Mayo weekend – having previously spoken about his preparations to “outdo” Canelo, he insisted he was looking forward to a physical fight.

“Outside the ring, he has all my respect,” Munguia, 27, said of his fellow Mexican. “In the ring, that respect goes away – and that’s what’s going to happen on Saturday night. When we get in there, it’s a war.”

“I like the fact that he thinks like that. I like the fact that he wants to knock me out, but I come with the same mentality. I think the same as him, but in reverse, and I’m going to knock him out,” he said.

“I’m very happy, very excited. It’s almost match day. I want to thank my team who are always behind me. You can expect an all-out war against Mexico. So tune in. You won’t be disappointed, and I’m looking forward to a great fight will be a great fight on Saturday night.

“Canelo has a lot of experience. He has faced great boxers. I may not have a resume like that where I have faced so many great fighters, but what I do have is a youthful spirit on my side, and what I want to do is to can show my abilities and what I can do in the ring to be able to win in the end.

“I feel happy, very proud of myself and the team that has brought me to this point, because everything we have done has brought us here, and that makes me proud.

“I came here to win. It will be a tough fight, but in the end I will raise my hand.”

Saturday’s fight is Munguia’s second since Freddie Roach replaced Erik Morales as his trainer. His first fight, in January against John Ryder, ended in a ninth-round victory; In May 2023, Alvarez struggled to impress against Ryder as he earned a 12-round unanimous decision victory.

“I had a great time training with Freddie,” said Munguia. “He’s not only a great coach, he’s also a great person. We’ve worked on a lot of things in our training camp, which has been incredible. You’ll see on Saturday night everything we’ve learned during this preparation, and the fans will be happy.”

“My fighter, Jaime, did really well, and we had a great training camp for this fight,” added Roach. “He’s really in his best shape right now, and we’re ready for this fight. Canelo is a very tough opponent, and we know that, and we’re ready for whatever he brings. He’s going to be the best.”

“The difference is his work ethic. Training every day, sparring partners – we had six sparring partners for this camp and we went through it all. He’s doing really well and he’s ready for this fight. He’s a winner and he’s going to show it.”

(fly)