Kalle Sauerland believes that Chris Eubank Jr would have proven a more worthy opponent for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez than will Jaime Munguia.
Munguia, 27, will fight the undisputed super middleweight champion at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 4 in an all-Mexican fight to mark Cinco de Mayo weekend.
His confirmation as Alvarez’s opponent concluded a period of consistent speculation surrounding any one of David Benavidez, Terence Crawford, Edgar Berlanga, Eubank Jr. and Munguia fighting him next, and also surrounding a potential split from promoters Premier Boxing Champions.
It was after seeing reports of the latter that Sauerland, of Eubank Jr’s promoters Wasserman, contacted those working with Alvarez to see if the 33-year-old could be tempted to fight another British opponent, but it is Munguia who will instead receive the lucrative opportunity of fighting the world’s leading fighter.
“Absolutely, Eubank, if you look at it in terms of a fight, would be a great opponent for Canelo,” Sauerland responded after being asked if his fighter was better placed than Munguia. “But I also think it’s a commercially very interesting fight for Canelo, because Canelo would unlock the UK market, obviously, with an opponent like Eubank.
“When we saw the rumour, we immediately contacted the team, but I believe they were already far down the road with Munguia at the time, and this was maybe a name mentioned in negotiations.”
Alvarez has previously fought, and defeated, Eubank Jr’s compatriots John Ryder, Billy Joe Saunders, Callum Smith, Rocky Fielding, Liam Smith, Amir Khan, Ryan Rhodes, and Matthew Hatton.