Canelo Alvarez is back in the ring tonight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, challenging Christian Mbilli for Mbilli’s WBC super middleweight title. This isn’t just any fight for Canelo, who hasn’t stepped into the squared circle since his loss to Terence “Bud” Crawford 13 months ago. Mbilli, on the other hand, hasn’t fought since drawing with Lester Martinez on that same card where Canelo lost. The main event is still to come, but the undercard has already brought some serious fireworks with Jaime Munguia defending his WBA super middleweight title against Nikita Zon.
Munguia is Relentless, But Zon Won’t Quit
The Munguia vs. Zon fight has been a brutal back-and-forth, 12 rounds for Munguia’s WBA title, and it’s already heating up. Munguia came out a little defensively in Round 1, feeling Zon out, but immediately started landing hard rights to the body. He targeted both sides, and you could see Zon trying to maul him in response, which earned a warning from the referee for dirty tactics. Zon was aggressive, but Munguia’s body punching carried the round.
Round 2 got wild. Munguia started to stand his ground more, launching an attack that sparked a counter from Zon. Zon landed a right hook and a body shot, still trying those mauling tactics. Then, a hard shot landed really well on Munguia, and he looked like he took some damage! Zon got in another right hook. Munguia turned Zon and landed a solid body shot, then countered a Zon left with one of his own. Zon pressed Munguia to the ropes, Munguia landed another hard one. The stream actually went down for a second, but the feeling was that was a Zon round, bringing the score to a dead even 19-19. Talk about unexpected!
Body Blows and Staggering Moments
Munguia didn’t let that Round 2 hiccup slow his game plan. In Round 3, those right hands from Munguia kept finding Zon’s body, and you could see it starting to take a toll. Zon started defending his body more deliberately, trying to mount his own offense with a series of awkward punches. Munguia landed a hard left to the body, backing Zon off, then another straight right to the body. Zon threw mostly ineffective punches, then Munguia landed three punches to Zon’s face and a clean check hook. But get this: Zon just walked through those head shots and landed a hard uppercut as he pressed Munguia to the ropes! Munguia took the round, 10-9, moving the score to 29-28.
Round 4 saw Munguia start with a combo that went downstairs to the body, followed by a straight right up top. Zon was standing his ground, landing shots sporadically, even backing Munguia into a corner with two punches and landing a hard right hook. Both guys were exchanging, and Munguia looked like he wasn’t taking these shots so well. But Munguia dug deep, landing a couple of clean shots down the stretch to just edge out that round, 10-9. The scorecard is Munguia 39-37, but man, Zon is making him work for every single point.
In Round 5, Munguia came out trying to push forward, having less success fighting on the back foot. He landed a left hand up top. Zon threw a combination, landing a straight left at the end of it, then another left with Munguia in the corner. But then, Munguia landed a hard right to the body that flat-out staggered Zon! Munguia tried to follow up, but couldn’t find the shot to put him down. Munguia takes another one, 10-9, bringing the unofficial score to 49-46.
What’s Next for the Night?
Wil Esco is on the round-by-round call, and we’re here for the full main card live updates, which kicked off at 1:00 pm ET. Munguia is ahead on points, but Zon is proving to be a tough, unpredictable opponent, especially with that Round 2 looking like it could have gone his way. Can Munguia hold onto that WBA title, or will Zon’s relentless, albeit awkward, pressure lead to something unexpected in the later rounds? All eyes are on Riyadh as we await the main event: Canelo vs. Mbilli.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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