Canelo Alvarez has named the fighter who he feels is most deserving of a passing-of-the-torch moment, perhaps not in the ring but rather in a non-combative sense.
As a supporter of fighters from his home nation, specifically, the 35-year-old is keen to see someone emerge as the next face of Mexican boxing.
Many would still regard Canelo as the leading star of Mexican boxing, even if his next outing, against WBC world super-middleweight champion Christian Mbilli, is taking place in Saudi Arabia on September 12.
David Benavidez, meanwhile, is widely expected to become a key fixture on Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day weekends, especially when considering his star-making performance against Gilberto Ramirez earlier this month.
But instead of highlighting Benavidez as the man to follow in his footsteps, Canelo has suggested that Jaime Munguia deserves to inherit his metaphorical torch.
Munguia lost a unanimous decision to Alvarez in 2024, but has since joined forces with his countryman by training under head coach Eddy Reynoso.
This partnership proved particularly successful earlier this month, with the 29-year-old becoming a two-weight world champion by unanimously outpointing, and dethroning, Armando Resendiz for the WBA super-middleweight strap.
While speaking with Ring Magazine, Canelo highlighted his stablemate as a worthy candidate to take his torch.
“I would love to pass the torch to Munguia. Why not? He’s learnt a lot [under Reynoso]. He works very hard, and he’s a very good guy, so he deserves everything.”
While perhaps a hard-working athlete, eyebrows were certainly raised after Munguia returned a positive drugs test last year, only to be cleared of any wrongdoing by the relevant governing and sanctioning bodies.
