Analyst Tim Bradley feels Jaime Munguia has the youth, energy, and volume-punching to defeat Canelo Alvarez in their headliner on Saturday night.
Tim sees chinks in the old warrior Canelo’s armor with him covering up more and more while his opponents hammer away at him with hard shots.
Bradley notes that the 34-year-old Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) isn’t throwing as many counter shots as he’d done in the past, and he’s spending time shelling up while his opponents unload on him with combinations.
Against a fighter like the 27-year-old Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs), that could be a problem for him because he’s going to be getting hit a lot. Munguia has the power to go along with his high work rate, and Bradley says he’s brave as well.
So unlike fighters like Dmitry Bivol, who would back off after throwing three to five-punch combos on Canelo, Munguia won’t back off and will continue to bombard him until the referee steps in and stops the fight. When that happens, we’ll have what Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya refers to as a “Changing of the guard.”
Zeroing In on Canelo’s Weaknesses
“Munguia has the youth, motor, and the volume to be able to compete with Canelo,” said Tim Bradley to the Sean Zittel YouTube channel, talking about Saturday’s fight between Canelo and Munguia.
“If you run combinations on Canelo, he’ll catch a lot, and then he’ll try and catch you with a shot in between. He’s not doing that as often as he used to do. I went back and watched Bivol fight. Bivol was able to control him with his lead hand.”
Canelo is getting sloppy in his old age, and Bradley says he’s got the tapes to show this. Bivol had his way of controlling Canelo with his jab, making him shell up against the ropes.
The Age and Experience Factor
“Canelo is heavy on his front foot, and leans forward. If Freddie Roach is watching, it’s going to be interesting. Munguia is young. I know he’s got something like 40 fights, but he’s still learning.
“Canelo is not as active as he once was. Munguia is brave. That can work for him or work against him. Munguia can land a lot of those combinations. If Canelo is being smart, and can time Munguia in between. I’ve seen Munguia get hurt.”
Canelo’s quick feet aren’t moving like they used to, and he’s going up against a hungry young lion, Munguia. He’s going to pounce on a stationary Canelo to unload everything, but the kitchen sink on him this Saturday night.
“I’ve only seen Canelo get hurt one time and that was way back against Jose Cotto [in 2010]. I haven’t even seen him on his legs and do a dance. This dude has got a chin of granite.”
Bradley gives Canelo some praise about his ability to take a good shot, and he thinks he could use his ring IQ to outsmart the younger fighter.
On the other hand, if Munguia never gives him a chance by throwing nonstop combinations like he did in his win over John Ryder, it won’t end well for Canelo.
“If Munguia can’t hurt him, I think Canelo is too smart for him. Munguia definitely has a chance, but he has to fight the right game plan,” said Bradley.
