“I came out well but I think at the beginning, I was winning some of those rounds,” Munguia says through a translator. “It was going well and I let my hands go but he was a fighter with a lot of experience, obviously. He beat me. Unfortunately, he beat me. The loss hurts, it definitely hurts.”Munguía doesn’t hesistate when asked if he would have won against anybody other than Álvarez tonight: “Yes, there’s no doubt.”He adds: “I started well but I obviously had some problems.” “I take my time,” says Álvarez, speaking entirely in English, when asked of his slow start. “That’s why I have a lot of experience. Jaime Munguía is a great fighter. He’s strong, he’s smart. But I take my time.

I have 12 rounds to win the fight and I did. I did really good and I feel proud about it.”On whether he was sure he’d be able to counterpunch so effectively: “He’s strong but I think he’s a little slow. I could see every punch … That’s why I’m the best. I’m the best fighter right now, for sure.”Naturally, Álvarez is asked about a potential fight with David Benavidez, the three-time super middleweight champion who has been chasing the Mexican for years.“I don’t know right now,” Álvarez says. “I’m going to rest, I’m going to enjoy my family. But you know, if the money is right, I an fight right now.

I don’t give a shit.”He adds: “At this point, everybody’s asking for everything, right?

When I fought Lara, Charlo, Miguel Angel Cotto, Mayweather, Billie Joe Saunders, everybody say I don’t want to fight them. And I fought all of them. So right now, I can ask whatever I want and I can do whatever I want.”Canelo Álvarez celebrates after Saturday’s win. Photograph: John Locher/AP The national anthems of Mexico and the United States have been performed ... and it’s time for the fighter entrances.

First out of the tunnel is the challenger, Jaime Munguía, making his way to the ring at a fairly brisk pace in a tri-color robe flanked by trainer Freddie Roach and a singer belting the Vicente Fernández standard Mexico Lindo y Querido (which, oddly enough, is a common Canelo walkout song).Now it’s Canelo’s turn and it’s a far more theatrical turn with an extended violin intro before he emerges onto the floor wearing a black Dolce & Gabbana robe with blue trail alongside the Mexican singer Luis R Conriquez, who is singing a Sinaloa-style number.Jaime Munguía motions from the ring ahead of Saturday’s fight.

Photograph: John Locher/AP As we wait for the final preliminary bout to finish, a quick look back at the big news of the week: that is, Ryan Garcia testing positive for the performance-enhancing anabolic agent ostarine on the day before and the day after his surprise win over Devin Haney last month in Brooklyn.That boxing has a drug problem is one of sports’ worst-kept secrets. But Thomas Hauser believes the growing Saudi influence on the promotional side has created a unique opportunity to clean things up. There are two main stumbling blocks to ridding boxing of illegal performance enhancing drugs: (1) a lack of motivation on the part of those in control, and (2) the cost of effective drug testing.

The General Entertainment Authority is uniquely situated to surmount these obstacles. Virtually every fighter in the world wants to fight under its banner because of the large purses involved. In order to do so, they will obey its rules. And the GEA has the funds to pay for a sophisticated comprehensive drug-testing program. With that in mind, I’d like to make the following proposal: (1) The General Entertainment Authority in conjunction with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada) should institute a program to test boxers for illegal performance enhancing drugs.

(2) To qualify to fight under the auspices of the General Entertainment Authority, a fighter would have to be enrolled in the GEA-Vada program for at least six months prior to the fight.

Obviously, the six-month requirement wouldn’t become effective until after the program has been in place for six months. But fighters would have to enroll now to be considered for a date within the next six months. (3) The program would cost between $500,000 and $1,000,000 annually. There would be a cost saving on the back end of the testing process because, if a fighter is subjected to testing throughout the year, fewer tests will be necessary as a fight approaches.

Here, I should note that Vada testing is already used for some of the General Entertainment Authority’s fights. But the testing doesn’t begin until after a fight is signed. And PEDs are often most effective when used to build core strength months in advance of a fight. The GEA would pay for the testing, so there would be no charge to the fighters. In order for the program to be effective and credible, it should be run by Vada. Boxing has a drug problem. Turki Alalshikh can make fixing it his legacy | Thomas Hauser “Canelo has a great deal of experience and has faced great fighters,” Munguía said this week through a translator. “I may not have the same resume, but I have youth on my side.

I’m going to showcase my capabilities on Saturday night.“We’ve worked on so much with Freddie Roach and had an amazing training camp. You’re going to see everything that we’ve learned on Saturday night.“I’m glad that he wants to knock me out, because I come with the same mentality. I’m gonna knock him out.

It’s gonna be a great fight.”Both Álvarez and Munguía have been uncommonly polite to one another throughout the run-up, with Canelo reserving his venom for his former promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, who now works with Munguía.When a translator sanitized Álvarez’s words during Wednesday’s final press conference, the fighter switched to English.“He tried to steal money, and he’s a fucking asshole,” Álvarez said. “That’s what I said. He’s a fucking asshole. He tried to [bring] attention to him, not for Munguía. He’s a fucking asshole. He steals from his fighter. That’s what he [does]. Fucking pussy motherfucker.”

Hello and welcome to tonight’s super middleweight championship fight between Canelo Álvarez and Jaime Munguía. We’ve got a fascinating matchup in store as the 33-year-old Álvarez, a four-division champion and boxing’s biggest star, puts his WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles at 168lbs on the line against the 27-year-old Munguía, who is unbeaten in 43 professional bouts with 34 wins inside the distance.It’s only the sixth all-Mexican undisputed title fight at any weight in boxing history and the first in more than 52 years, when Rafael Herrera stopped Ruben Olivares for the WBA and WBC bantamweight titles on 19 March 1972.We’re about 90 minutes away from the main event. Plenty more to come between now and then.