By Anthony George – Tracy Chapman’s debut album, Tracy Chapman, is one of the best albums ever produced. Mountains o’ Things is one of the best tracks on the album. Although, there is no bad song on the album. What does this have to do with boxing, you ask? Canelo Alvarez is set to fight Jaime Mungia on May 4^th. While it is a fight I like, a fight I like a lot, there are mountains in the way that prevents this author from thoroughly enjoying the buildup to the fight. Unfortunately, the norm in boxing today, circa 2024, is that there are plenty of mountains to climb before you can enjoy what actually transforms inside the squared circle. That is precisely what is happening with Canelo V. Mungia. Some mountains are created by people with nothing better to do with their time. Some mountains are entirely legitimate obstacles. Some mountains were created by Canelo himself.

The first mountain we have to climb, before we can start to enjoy the fight we have before us, is created by Al Haymon Haters. Folks who have nothing better to do with their time. Indeed, there are legitimate gripes for Mr. Haymon and the PBC. But for some folks, it is an obsession. Their favorite pastime. Behavior that is so biased and skewed that it accomplishes nothing but wetting the venomous whistle of the hater. With the upcoming Canelo fight, there was a significant buildup regarding who would win the Cinco De Mayo sweepstakes and fight Alvarez in May. As those sweepstakes occurred, news broke that Canelo was leaving the PBC. What I mean by news is all the Haymon Haters practically broke limbs to rush the ‘news’ on social media.

The customary ceremony of throwing dirt on Haymon and the PBC ensued.

Glee centered around the fact that the PBC and their new quest on the streaming services would soon be on life support without Canelo. Guess who is hosting Canelo vs. Mungia? That is right, the PBC. It is bad enough that so many people rush to get a false report over the wire just to be first. These people do not even bother to retract, apologize, or credit the PBC for keeping Canelo with their company and setting up a significant pay-per-view with Amazon Prime. Indeed, to expect anything resembling class from these folks is like a pugilist chasing Floyd Mayweather Jr. out of the ring. It is not going to happen. These are the same people who go out of their way to post any lousy press connected to a PBC fighter. These are the same people who go out of their way to dispute any pay-per-view numbers released on a PBC card. These are the same people who…. Take your pick. There is a type. For those who might feel Haymon and the PBC are the worst things for boxing today. They are not. They stand many steps behind the clickbait maniacs on social media, as well as Joe Tessitore. Oh, I kid, Joe.

The second mountain to climb is a legitimate one. As much as I like Canelo’s matchup with Mungia, it is far from the best Canelo fight that can be made for the fans. David Benavidez and David Morrell are ranked 1a and 1b as the best fight for the fans. The only other fight that would have been considered a reasonable alternative would have been a rematch with Dmitry Bivol. After all, a fighter with Canelo’s clout would have been entitled to some redemption. Nothing else comes close. Unless you buy the fact that Canelo and Terence Crawford sharing the same ring is not science fiction. I do not subscribe to that thought.

Therefore, it is understandable if this Mungia fight is too big of a mountain to climb for you.

However, make sure you do not tune in if you feel that way.

I do not think that way because Mungia is a good fighter. A better fighter than he has ever been given credit for. A better fighter than a +425 underdog. A better fighter than anyone Canelo has defeated since Golovkin II (although I felt GGG won the fight). You must be making your best impression of Mister Magoo if you have not seen the improvements Mungia has showcased over the years. He is a good offensive fighter who will not be hard to find and will make you pay the price for finding him. While it is true that it would have been nice to see him against some stiffer competition, he will have to put up or shut up come May 4th. 

The final mountain to climb was created by Canelo’s own nonsense. His comment that David Benavidez does not bring enough of his own pay-per-view numbers to the table is absurd. Canelo, we know you do not want any part of David, but you are better off staying quiet about it. To peel the onion of this accusation is to discover a farce. Canelo has not cracked a million pay-per-view buys since GGG II. And some numbers were abysmal, i.e., Liam Smith and John Ryder. Dmitry Bivol, on top of Canelo losing badly, produced disappointing PPV numbers. The buys for the third GGG fight paled compared to the first two. There is no way a fight with David Benavidez would generate lower PPV numbers than that batch. In fact, a battle with Benavidez would have a great chance to do better numbers than Canelo’s best PPV numbers recently, the Caleb Plant and Jermell Charlo fights. Although the Haymon Haters would say, those numbers are inflated.

Canelo doubled down on his verbal diarrhea by saying that because of David Benavidez’s low PPV numbers, it would take over 150 million to fight David. Canelo would not be the first fighter to price himself out, but to make that statement after a bout with Mungia is signed makes little sense. The comment does nothing to sell the fight he actually has.

Of course, the best way to expose that Canelo wants no part of either David is for Benavidez and Morell to fight each other. The winner of such a fabulous showdown would have a stranglehold on who the public would want to see Canelo fight. Much more so than the current situation. It might even pressure a guy who has had it his way for quite some time. But do not kid yourselves. A fight between the David’s is not going to happen.

And that is not on Canelo.

While these mountains are currently in the way of me really enjoying what will be the best fight Canelo has had in years, they will be climbed by May 4th. After all, the only people who are tougher than the pugilists who put their lives on the line for entertainment are the hardcore fans who have not given up on the sport and believe there are still many more positives than negatives in boxing today. People like this author will prevail, enjoy the fight, and continue to love this brutal sport they call the sweet science Albeit sometimes these mountains, o’ mountains, are taxing.   

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Photo from Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions