Behind the scenes at Canelo vs. Munguia on Wednesday in Las Vegas
See where I went and what I did after arriving to cover the big fight
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LAS VEGAS — Last time I was here was in September to cover Canelo Alvarez’s undisputed super middleweight title defense against Jermell Charlo at T-Mobile Arena.
So, it’s great to be back for yet another big Las Vegas fight week to cover Canelo’s defense against Jaime Munguia on Saturday (Prime Video PPV, DAZN PPV, PPV.com, 8 p.m., $89.99) at T-Mobile Arena, where I will have covered 16 of the 18 boxing events to take place in the building.
This fight should be much better than Canelo’s fight against Charlo, who did not come to fight but rather to survive. I don’t think anyone is worried that the all-action Munguia won’t give a great effort and make it a good fight.
Since I began covering boxing full-time in 2000 I have made close to 130 trips to Las Vegas. That’s a lot of airline miles, a lot of cab lines, a lot of press conferences and weigh-ins and, of course, a lot of water pressure reports.
The hotel I have stayed at the most, by far — either because the fight was in its arena or because it was the host for events at T-Mobile Arena — is the MGM Grand, which is essentially my home away from home. Add up all my trips here and I have spent well over one year of my life at the MGM Grand.
As usual for a big fight, I arrived on Wednesday morning, having taken a 7 a.m. flight from Washington, D.C. I slept most of the fight and hit town ready to go. After all these years the fight weeks have a rhythm and routine, but I do not (and never have) taken for granted all the years I have done this and that as a media member I get see things and go places fans cannot.
I thought I would show you where I went and what I saw on Wednesday with a series of photos and an explanation of it all.
I’m in Las Vegas covering Canelo-Munguia. Upgrade to a paid subscription and make sure you don’t miss any posts. You’ll also have full access to all posts, the full archive, you can make and read all comments and you will help support independent journalism.