De La Hoya Reacts To Canelo Beating Munguia

De La Hoya likened Munguia’s loss against Alvarez to Canelo’s loss to Mayweather — a bump in the road en route to taking over as the next superstar of boxing.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez took the fight to Jaime Munguia on Saturday night, defending his unified super middleweight title and handing the up-and-coming 27 year old fighter his first knockdown and first career loss (watch the highlights here).

Leading up to the battle between two Mexicans on Cinco de Mayo weekend, it seemed like Canelo was targeting Munguia’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya as much as he was Munguia himself. De La Hoya and Canelo spat acid at each other during the pre-fight press conference to the point where Oscar said a defamation lawsuit is forthcoming against Alvarez.

During the post-fight press conference, De La Hoya was relatively respectful of Canelo, while framing Munguia’s loss as similar to Saul’s 2013 loss to Floyd Mayweather.

“I thought Jaime did excellent against the current face of boxing right now,” De La Hoya said. “I strongly feel that — I take nothing away from Canelo, I’ve always said he’s a good fighter in the ring. But this experience for Jaime will just take him to another level.”

“It’s just like Mayweather and Canelo. It’s the same thing. Canelo got school and then he became the face of boxing. Same thing with Munguia. He gained experience. He didn’t get schooled. He gains experience and becomes a better fighter. This is just the beginning for Jaime.”

Jaime Munguia also spoke to the press about his first loss at the post-fight press conference. He said it wasn’t the damage caused by the uppercut knockdown in the fourth that led to his defeat, but the loss of his composure.

“When he hit me with the uppercut I was more surprised than hurt,” Munguia said through an interpreter. “I was not hurt, but it was a good punch … He was in great shape and condition. I was winning the first rounds, and then after the knockdown I fell into his game and he started to beat me with his spirit. “

“I think I got desperate to recover from that knockdown and I started changing my game, and I think with his experience, he started getting into his game with the counter-punches.”

At just 27 years old and now 44-1, Munguia will have many opportunities to show what he’s learned from this experience with one of the best boxers in the world. He may be the future, but Canelo Alvarez is still the man today.