Difficult Night for Mexico: Three Wins, Five Losses on Canelo-Mbilli Undercard

On a night meant to celebrate Mexican boxing, the undercard before Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez's main event against Christian Mbilli delivered a mixed verdict. Across eight bouts, Mexican fighters won three times and lost five times. Yet two of those three victories came in title fights, which means the evening cannot be written off as a complete disaster for the host camp.

It is important to be clear about what that 3-5 figure actually is. Professional boxing has no official team score. This tally is a narrative device used in coverage of the event, which framed the night as Mexico against fighters from Cuba, France, Japan, Russia, Nicaragua and Saudi Arabia. In other words, it is a symbolic count, not an official result.

The theme of the event was a celebration of Mexican boxing, and every bout was viewed in that spirit. But the results showed that the night was not easy for the home side. Mexican fighters faced tough opposition from the start, and a run of defeats in the middle fights ratcheted up the pressure. Two big wins at the end salvaged some pride.

Bout 1: Brayan Leon beat Hector Aguirre

The undercard opened with Cuba's Brayan Leon against Mexico's Hector Aguirre. Leon won by unanimous decision. Aguirre, who comes from the State of Mexico, suffered a defeat that was seen as an early blow for the host nation. With that win, Cuba opened the scoring and Mexico trailed 0-1.

Bout 2: Carlos Rojos knocked out Flavius Biea

Mexico's first win came in the second bout, when Carlos Rojos knocked out Flavius Biea. It was a relief for the Mexican camp and levelled the symbolic score at 1-1. But the relief did not last long, because Mexican fighters then lost a string of bouts.

Bout 3: Bek Nurmanganbet beat Marcos Vasquez

The third bout saw Bek Nurmanganbet defeat Mexico's Marcos Vasquez. Details of this fight are scarce — neither the method of victory nor the round is clear. That gap reflects a shortcoming in reporting that had promised a full account of every result. The score moved to 1-2.

Bout 4: Sultan Almohammed beat Erick Villegas

In the fourth bout, Sultan Almohammed defeated Mexico's Erick Villegas, pushing the score to 1-3. From that point the pressure on the Mexican camp kept growing. By the fourth fight, Mexico had managed only one win and had lost three in a row.

Bout 5: James Martin beat David Picasso by split decision

The fifth bout was the most entertaining, with James Martin defeating David 'El Rey' Picasso by split decision. Picasso drew attention for his ring walk — he entered in Spider-Man style, which fired up the crowd. But Martin took the decision. With that loss, Mexico's score fell to 1-4.

Bout 6: Reito Tsutsumi knocked out Raymundo Rojas Garcia in round two

In the sixth bout, Japan's Reito Tsutsumi knocked out Mexico's Raymundo Rojas Garcia in the second round. Rojas Garcia hails from Cuernavaca. It was Mexico's fourth straight defeat. By this stage the score stood at 1-5 and the situation looked grim. Four consecutive losses had drained the Mexican camp's morale.

Bout 7: Rafael 'Divino' Espinoza knocked out Ricardo Blandon

The seventh bout brought relief for the Mexican side. Rafael 'Divino' Espinoza of Guadalajara knocked out Nicaragua's Ricardo Blandon. The fight was stopped after Blandon suffered a cut — reports indicate the bout was halted because of an open cut on his face. With the win, Espinoza retained his WBO featherweight title. The victory came after four straight Mexican defeats and proved a lifeline for the home camp. The score moved to 2-5.

Bout 8: Jaime Munguia beat Nikita Zon by unanimous decision

In the final undercard bout, Mexican star Jaime Munguia defeated Russia's Nikita Zon by unanimous decision after 12 rounds and retained his title. Munguia walked to the ring to the tune of 'El Rey', which evokes Rocky IV — the film in which an American boxer faces a Soviet opponent. Here a Mexican fighter faced a Russian, and the parallel was unmistakable. With that win, Mexico's final tally reached 3-5.

Overall: two title wins, three wins in total

The biggest relief for Mexico on this undercard came from the title wins of Espinoza and Munguia. Both retained their belts. But Mexican fighters lost the rest of the bouts, leaving the overall count at 3-5. The figure makes clear that wins and losses were closely matched on the night, but the losses outweighed the wins.

It should be kept in mind that a 'team score' of this kind is not a real thing in professional boxing. It is simply a way of looking at how Mexican fighters performed together at an event built around Mexican boxing. Because the theme of the event was a celebration of the sport in Mexico, the comparison arose naturally. But it should not be treated as an official statistic.

Some reporting gaps

The coverage also had some shortcomings. Several bouts were not fully described — for example, the wins of Nurmanganbet over Vasquez and Almohammed over Villegas were reported without method or round. Since the headline promised 'all results', that gap is noticeable. At least two of the eight bouts lack full detail.

In addition, the spelling of some names is questionable — including Bek Nurmanganbet, Sultan Almohammed, Nikita Zon and Carlos Rojos. These names need to be verified against the original source. The organisation and weight class of Munguia's title were also not made clear, which is important information. If the nature of the belt is unclear, claims such as 'retained his title' can create confusion.

It is also worth noting that no date, venue or weight class was given for the card. The result of the main event between Alvarez and Mbilli is not included either, which suggests the report was written during or immediately after the event. Another point: apart from Espinoza's featherweight title, the report does not say which weight classes the bouts were contested in.

Conclusion

It was a mixed night for Mexican boxing. On one hand, five defeats; on the other, title wins from Espinoza and Munguia that gave Mexican fans something to cheer. Espinoza's victory came after four straight losses and kept the home camp's morale intact. Munguia's win pushed the final tally to 3-5 and gave the night a measure of balance.

Yet in the broader context of Mexican boxing, that figure does not tell the whole story. Professional boxing is about individual bouts, and on this night Mexico's two title winners were the biggest achievement. The other defeats should be viewed in the context of a single event, not as a measure of Mexican boxing's overall strength.

The event also mattered because it took place before the big fight between Canelo Alvarez and Christian Mbilli. The main event result is not in this report, but the undercard made one thing clear: there is depth in Mexican boxing, even if the results on this particular night were mixed. Espinoza and Munguia showed that Mexico remains strong at title level, while the defeats in other bouts showed how tough the competition is.

If the night is summed up in one line, it is this: Mexico won three and lost five, but two of those three wins were title wins. That is the biggest consolation from a difficult night.