Canelo Alvarez wants Jaime Munguia to step into his shoes when he steps down as the next Mexican boxing star, but many fans believe that David Benavidez already earned that position years ago.
“I hope so, and I’d love to pass the torch to Munguia. Why not?” Canelo told the Mr. Verzace podcast said.
The reaction online was mixed, with many fans arguing that it wasn’t Canelo’s decision to make. Others pointed to Benavidez, who spent years fighting top contenders at super middleweight before moving up to 175, where he later won titles against stronger opposition than Munguia faced.
Munguia’s biggest problem is that the super middleweight division is full of dangerous fighters that fans expect him to face before anyone accepts him as the next Mexican superstar.
Osleys Iglesias, Christian Mbilli, Diego Pacheco, Hamzah Sheeraz and Benavidez are all considered legitimate threats at 168 or nearby weight classes. Unlike Canelo, Munguia doesn’t have years of built-in popularity or a long championship run to shield him from criticism if he avoids those kinds of fights.
That reality became even more difficult after Munguia’s knockout loss to Bruno Surace in December 2024. Although Munguia avenged the loss, critics still view the first fight as a huge red flag because Surace was seen as a manageable opponent at the time.
Munguia later bounced back to defeat Armando Resendiz for the WBA belt earlier this month, but many fans still don’t see his record as strong enough to put him ahead of Benavidez as the likely successor to Canelo.
The conversation may only get louder depending on what happens on September 12, when Canelo returns against Christian Mbilli in Riyadh. Mbilli is younger, aggressive, throws non-stop combinations and is considered by many fans to be one of the most dangerous fighters at 168. A loss to Canelo will likely accelerate the debate over who really becomes the next big Mexican star in boxing.
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Last updated on 2026/05/26 at 12:29
