Tonight (May 4), Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, a renowned figure in boxing, will be making his comeback at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He will be defending his undisputed super-middleweight championship against his fellow Mexican opponent, Jaime Munguia.
Unfortunately, the anticipated fight between Canelo and his undefeated rival David Benavidez, which many of us desired to witness, appears to be unlikely. This is because Benavidez is scheduled to start his campaign at light-heavyweight against the experienced Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15.
The fight between Canelo and Munguia is anticipated to be highly entertaining. Canelo’s boxing skills and exciting style have contributed to his immense popularity. Similarly, Munguia’s traditional Mexican fighting style ensures that he rarely engages in uneventful bouts. Consequently, I anticipate a captivating and enjoyable fight as these two fighters come together.
Alvarez’s prime years are behind him, as he has exhibited noticeable signs of decline. While he may not be the formidable force he once was, he remains a highly skilled fighter. On the contrary, Munguia is at a different stage in his career, showing potential for growth and improvement. Although not quite on the same level as his opponent, he is likely to put up a good fight but ultimately lose on points in a thrilling battle.
In the lead-up to Canelo fights, people often overlook the fact that in 2018, before his rematch with Gennadiy Golovkin, he was found to have trace amounts of the performance enhancing drug Clenbuterol in his system. This topic resurfaced recently during a press conference when Oscar De La Hoya, Canelo’s former promoter who now represents Munguia, brought it up.
Golden Boy Promotions, the promotional company representing Canelo at the time, released a statement in March 2018 addressing the discoveries.
“As part of the voluntary testing programme that Canelo Alvarez insisted on ahead of his 5 May fight, one of his results came back positive for trace levels of clenbuterol, consistent with meat contamination that has impacted dozens of athletes in Mexico over the last years.”
Although De La Hoya’s metaphorical jab aimed to unsettle Canelo, it still tarnishes his career and undermines his accomplishments, thereby raising doubts.
Other Mexican athletes who had previously failed a PED test had also provided the contaminated meat explanation. Given Canelo’s carefulness and the presence of a reliable team around him, it is reasonable to assume that they would have taken meticulous precautions to ensure the absence of any contaminated meat in his consumption.
Regardless of the truth, it is ironic that De La Hoya mentioned this issue just as news emerged about one of his own fighters, Ryan Garcia, testing positive for the prohibited substance Ostarine. This development now casts doubts on Garcia’s recent victory over Devin Haney. However, since the news broke, Garcia has chosen to respond with humor and conspiracy theories regarding the positive test.
This response accurately mirrors the current state of the sport. Despite witnessing the long-awaited matches being scheduled this year, the sport has unfortunately become a source of mockery due to recent incidents. It is no longer surprising to hear about renowned boxers failing drug tests. The question now remains, who will be the next to face such a predicament?
