Mexico City. “Mexican boxing is memory,” says writer James Ellroy in his book Destino: La Morgue to allude to that prosapia of warriors who leave everything in a ring moved by the only fuel they know, pride. They try to revive that memory every time two fighters born in this land face each other to resolve grievances that grow as the date of the fight approaches.
Saúl Canelo Álvarez, undisputed super middleweight champion, appeals to that heritage that will be revived in Las Vegas against the Tijuana challenger, Jaime Munguía, a young man who at 27 years old received the juiciest offer of his career when he had the opportunity to fight against the biggest star of boxing.
That rivalry seems to not exist. Neither Canelo nor Munguía seem to have affronts to collect or honors to wash away. He is just a 33-year-old man who has managed his career as an industry and a challenger who intends to enter that lobby. Both will try to show that a real and, above all, profitable competition can emerge from here, while the redhead decides if he faces David Benavidez, the Mexican with whom they would like to see him fight.
In the last face to face before the fight, this Friday both carried out the official weigh-in in the morning. A novelty in this business is that the public weighing ceremony now only has a symbolic and advertising objective, since both have already fulfilled the requirement hours before. Both fighters were under the 168-pound limit.
When they looked at each other from the front, the height advantage that Munguía has over him is noticeable with his 1.83 centimeters, ten more than the redhead who looks as if he were a head shorter than his opponent. Nothing surprising, due to the divisions in which he has traveled, the man from Guadalajara always faces larger fighters.
Again, there were no attacks or challenges between the protagonists. They greeted each other with great respect and with the courtesy of a mature man before a young man who is beginning to make his way. That did not stop Munguía from making it clear that he has the track record and skills to be there.
“This is a great opportunity that I do not plan to waste,” Munguía said at the public weigh-in ceremony yesterday. “Tomorrow (today) I will be the new world champion.”
Munguía tries to inspire respect, to be treated as a rival who can put the star in trouble and even cause a big surprise.
“I have the confidence that comes from my preparation, my work team, my family and all the people who come to support me. Tomorrow (today) Mexican boxing will win, it will be a great fight,” said Munguía, who will thus have his first pay-per-view in the United States, a decisive step for our country’s fighters when they enter the elite of international boxing.
Canelo moves like a man who has control of the entire scene, like a movie star, or better yet, like a great director. He moves smiling and with ease, he is the protagonist and he knows it well. He is the favorite to win this contest in which his four belts from the main boxing organizations will be at stake.
“I feel pretty good,” he says without erasing his smile; “I’m not going to get angry today, I’m just going to show you who I am and that I’m in my best shape. “I’m going to do my best fight and I want everyone in Mexico to enjoy it.”
Talking about combats between Mexicans brings to the present the epic battles of Erik “Terrible” Morales against Marco Antonio Barrera, three fights that the American James Ellroy wrote about in the aforementioned book; Rafael Márquez against Israel Vázquez; Carlos Zárate opposite Alfonso Zamora and Rubén “Púas” Olivares in his trilogy with Chucho Castillo. Pure mythology in underwear and leather gloves.
For Canelo and Munguía there is a worthy and heroic boxing history that will be present in the fans’ memories. What a challenge.
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– 2024-05-04 21:39:34
