Jaime Munguia has taken himself to seclusion in order to best prepare for his biggest fight to date against Canelo Alvarez.
The former super-welterweight world champion is a big underdog for his meeting with legendary undisputed super-middleweight title holder Alvarez. And he is leaving no stone unturned as he trains for the Las Vegas showdown which lands on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena.
Munguia has holed himself up just outside of Los Angeles, where he trains at legendary coach Freddie Roach’s gym. The pair teamed up before his last fight against John Ryder, when he managed to best Alvarez’s performance by landing a knockout.
Jaime Munguia explains key difference to his corner with Freddie Roach
Ahead of his January meeting with Ryder, Munguia decided to make a chance in trainers as he took on the iconic former fighter and renowned coach Roach. He moved to the Wild Card Boxing Gym and showed immediate improvements from previous outings.
He has continued that partnership for the Alvarez bout, and explained that working with an old head like Roach has brought calmness to his team during fights. “Training with Freddie has been great,” he explained during a media workout this week.
“He’s brought a lot of peace and tranquility to my corner. He’s a wise trainer with a lot of experience. Any fight at this level is going to be a hard fight, but I really believe that this is going to be an exciting fight and a memorable one.
“I’m going to go in there to do my job. I don’t care what anyone on the outside says. At the end of the day, I have to stay ready and make the most of this opportunity.”
Jaime Munguia admits Canelo Alvarez is fight he has pursued for years
Despite the fact that the pair were in separate weight classes for much of the last few years, Munguia has had his eyes on a bout with Alvarez for the majority of his career. The Mexican duo have both held WBO super-welterweight gold, and even defeated Liam Smith in bouts for that belt.
And he has been actively pursuing the bout for a while, explaining: “I’ve always kept an eye on Canelo, even when we were in different weight classes. Eventually you have to fight the best in your division and that’s where we are right now.
“I respect Canelo as a fighter, but when you step into that ring with me, I’m going to do my best to do my job and get my hand raised.”
Jaime Munguia reveals leaving his infant son is the hardest part of training camp
In the Alvarez vs Munguia pre-fight documentary Gloves Off, the title challenger detailed how difficult he finds it to leave his family during his secluded fight camp. His son is just five months old, and was born shortly before his bout with John Ryder which required a similarly intensive training regime.
After showing the cameras a Facetime call between he and his family, Munguia explained: “The truth is that being in camp is difficult. What I miss the most is being with my family, being with my son, being able to see him every day.
“He is five months old and I’ve only seen him for two months of his life. I started my last camp and only got to see him one month. And then when I came back from the fight I had a month with him before I was back in camp. I am very excited to be a dad, honestly, that’s what motivates me.”