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MAGNO'S BULGING MAIL SACK: TEOFIMO, MUNGUIA, CANELO IN PERSPECTIVE

By Paul Magno | June 15, 2023
MAGNO'S BULGING MAIL SACK: TEOFIMO, MUNGUIA, CANELO IN PERSPECTIVE

Every Thursday here at FightHype, we make a space among the video content for a good, old-fashioned written word money shot from the depths of my bulbous, bulging sack. So, get ready for some of that infamous Magno-rific gooey, salty, sometimes NSFW truth. This week, we have comments/questions regarding Teofimo Lopez, Jaime Munguia, and Canelo in Perspective...

Teofimo/Munguia

Hi Paul

I have mixed feelings about Teofimo winning. It’s always good to have a talented guy to have these kinds of performances, but I find it very odd to use that comment of killing someone. It was good for him to say after the fight that he may be caught in the heat of emotions, but at the end of the day I don’t like his attitude one bit. My view is that as long as he sticks with his dad, and providing his retirement is all bluff, he will run into another Kambosos in a couple of years. And if he does decide to continue his career, I think he should do it at some other place rather than Top Rank, as Bob Arum has been very vocal about fighters being overpaid and Teofimo believing he deserved a sum that he has not proven he deserves.

I am glad Jaime Munguia got a beating (even though he won), probably this will bring some sense into ODLH that he might be KOed by a non-elite fighter and he needs to match him against someone big. Personally, I would like to see him face Carlos Adames (I know the Charlo fight might not happen, regardless of me reading somewhere that he might be in negotiations with a red-headed undisputed champ) and this would give him leverage to now force a fight at 160 with the big guys, thoughts?

Best Regards

– Miguel

Hey Miguel.

There are two things I know for sure when it comes to Teofimo Lopez: 1) He is NOT retiring and 2) He hasn’t learned a damn thing from his recent complications in life. 

The guy had barely left the ring when he picked right up where he left off post-Lomachenko win, comparing himself to boxing legends and trying to scheme for more money. It’s almost as if he hadn’t gone through nearly three years of a stalled career due to these very same vainglorious ideations. Teofimo will always be his own worst enemy and I have zero doubt that he’s headed for another fall at some point fairly soon. In the ring, though, he’s a joy to watch and he’ll have plenty of big fight opportunities if he can keep on the path to getting those fights. 

Munguia is done at 160. He can’t make the weight anymore and is reportedly struggling mightily to even make 168 now. And this puts Golden Boy/Team Munguia in a tough spot. Canelo has all the belts at 168 and could very well ignore Munguia because of Munguia’s affiliation with Golden Boy. I don’t see Munguia doing very well against any of the other super middleweight top dogs. I think guys like David Benavidez and David Morrell crush him and Demetrius Andrade would make him look awful. Sending him up to light heavyweight to try and tangle with Beterbiev or Bivol would be a suicide mission. So, I honestly don’t know where Munguia CAN go at this point. 

Munguia’s Baptism By Fire

Hi Magno! 

Munguia-Derevyanchenko reminded me why I’m a hard core boxing fan. It has the power to make you forget. To make you dream. To make you feel whatever possible emotion. 

I was part of the legion of guys who didn’t believe Munguía was for real. I even felt he was not worthy labeling himself as a Mexican-style warrior. I stopped caring many many months ago. 

I saw the fight because I was in front of my TV waiting for Taylor-Lopez to begin. Thank God I saw the 12 rounds. 

Good Lord. Was I wrong about Munguía. 

I am NOT saying he is the next big thing. I am NOT saying he is PxP material. I DO believe, tough, that his fucking cojones don’t fit in his pantalones. Sergiy Derevyanchenko is like a Terminator. He won’t stop coming at you no matter what. The guy is scary. And Munguia passed the test with flying colors and offered a very entertaining show. 

Let me rant about the Ukrainian. What a good boxer he is. And what a shame he has lost so many close fights. I feel really sorry for him. I’m a fan and forever will be. The way he fights is, again, scary. Did you notice the guy was way more dangerous when he was hurt? Come on, that’s absolutely sick! A pleasure to watch. I hope he gets another chance to shine for he deserves it and he is must-watch TV. I still can’t believe he made it to the final round, by the way. 

Jaime Munguia was baptized with fire in the big leagues. The first round made me think he was going to get KO’d. And the 5th round made me feel sorry for the kid. When he sensed his rival was hurt, he swung for the fence and paid a dear price. He was almost out on his feet like Castillo was vs Corrales. But he did not surrender. He kept adjusting. He did not panic. And kept coming. And coming. The way his corner -kudos to El Terrible- handled the fight was absolutely terrific. The knockdown in the last round was a glorious moment for the Munguia Team. 

Munguia is must-watch TV, too. We realized he has the composure, heart, power, and brain, to take most of the top dogs in the division to deep waters. Good for him. Very nice story of mini-redemption.

Lastly, what an astonishing, breath-taking 5th round. It’s not for the faint of heart. I’m sure most of you media guys will remember it if you care about awarding a “round of the year” price. 

Saludos. 

– Carlos, from Hermosillo, Mexico.

Hey Carlos.

For all the criticism I’ve heaped on Munguia (including what I wrote above), he IS a captivating fighter and a likable guy. He also passed a major gut check last Saturday against Derevyanchenko.

But that’s the problem. Golden Boy/Zanfer didn’t make this fight to be a “to Hell and back” life-and-death battle. They signed the fight to be a showcase squash against someone with name value who should’ve been due for a mighty fall. Munguia shouldn’t have struggled so prodigiously against a well-worn, older, much smaller former title challenger who was 1-3 in his last four fights and 2-4 in his last six. 

And, honestly, I think Munguia being able to establish himself in the second half of the fight was mostly due to Derevyanchenko being worn down from his physical disadvantages against a bigger, younger, and much fresher opponent.

Munguia-Derevyancheno was a great fight. Unfortunately, I think it may have marked the beginning of the end for both fighters. Derevyanchenko should be spent now and Munguia may have proven himself to be dead in the water at 168.

Canelo in Perspective

Hello Paul

Love your mailbag. I enjoy it every week. 

So, I was thinking about how boxers are judged after they retire. 

Shouldn't we, in assessing the greatness of a fighter, dig a little deeper than their boxrec? Two fighters in two particular fights come to mind when I think of this:

1. Meldrick Taylor v Chavez. Irrespective of the debate around the stoppage, Taylor put in an incredible performance against a still brilliant Chavez, and was soundly beating him in my opinion. Yet he lost that fight and so it doesn't get credited to his greatness by the boxing public. That’s something I don't agree with.

2. Ali v Frazier 3. I thought Frazier was incredible in that fight. I had him soundly beating Ali, and yet he got caught and he lost the fight. Again, I don’t think he gets the right amount of credit for that performance because he was on the losing side. 

So we come to Canelo. Although he has great accolades, if you look at his titles and boxrec, shouldn't we look a little deeper, as with all fighters, and ask where were Mosley, Cotto, and Kovalev in their careers when he beat them? Did he really beat Trout and Lara or did he get favorable judging? Although he is the undisputed 168 champ, how good were the fighters he fought to collect those belts?

For me, as much adoration as he has gotten since becoming undisputed, I don’t think that's been the best of him. I don’t think 168 is his weight class. From Golovkin 1 through to Jacobs, I think I saw the best of Canelo, irrespective of if you thought he won those Golovkin fights are not. 

Anyway, I would be interested to see what you think of all or any of this.

Big Fan.

– Omar

Hey Omar.

Thanks for reading.

You make some really good points. There IS too much of an emphasis on results over performance, but that’s the culture we’re in, so what can we do?

As for Canelo? I agree, to an extent. I think his legacy is more defined by volume than by any one or two particular performances. I do have higher regard than you seem to have for his run to unify the super middleweight titles. He pretty much dominated three of the top 5 super middleweights in the world at the time. I don’t think you can be asked to do much better. It’s not his fault who held the belts at the time.

You do bring up an interesting question, though. What WAS Canelo’s best performance? What are those one or two fights we’d show people to explain why he was an elite of his time? I’d say Golovkin 2, Golovkin 1, and maybe Billy Joe Saunders. But, like we talked about with performance vs. results, it has to be regarded as pretty damn impressive how well he fought Austin Trout, Floyd Mayweather, and Erislandy Lara as a 22-23 year-old.

Got a question (or hate mail) for Magno’s Bulging Mail Sack? The best of the best gets included in the weekly mailbag segment right here at FightHype. Send your stuff here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com.

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