GRADES: CANELO ALVAREZ, JAIME MUNGUIA, MARIO BARRIOS, EIMANTIS STANIONIS & MORE

By: Jay Calderon

Of course, in the biggest fight of the weekend, we saw world Super Middleweight champion Saul Alvarez took on and soundly defeated Jaime Munguia, erasing his perfect record in the process. However, we also saw a decent bit of action on the under card as well.

In the co-featured bout of the evening, Mario Barrios defended a fringe portion of the Welterweight title against Fabian Maidana, and Eimantis Stanionis did the same against Gabriel Maestre.

We also saw Brandon Figueroa end Jessie Magdaleno with a body shot in the ninth frame of Featherweight action.

So, without much more ado, let's hand out these grades:
 

CANELO ALVAREZ
RESULT: DEF. JAIME MUNGUIA, 12UD (SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT)
GRADE: B
The Canelo Alvarez of three or four years ago stops Jaime Munguia. However, this new version of the Super Middleweight world champion might just be a step or two behind his former self.

After his win over the previously-unbeaten Munguia, some speculated that Alvarez might have carried his foe to the finish. However, I just think the Mexican redhead might be fighting with one less gear than was previously the case.

Canelo beats the vast majority of fighters at or around 168 pounds. Still, it is safe to say he isn't the fighter at the top of the pound-for-pound list anymore.

In some respects, that makes a potential match with a David Banevidez all the more intriguing (if it ever happens).

JAIME MUNGUIA
RESULT: LOSS TO CANELO ALVAREZ, 12UD (SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT)
GRADE: C-
Heading into the Canelo Alvarez battle, Jaime Munguia was a considerable underdog -- and for good reason. While certainly no slouch, Munguia lacks the overall skills and experience his countryman possesses.

All things considered, Munguia did fairly well in a fight most expected he would/should lose. After a particularly solid start, Munguia managed to rise from a knockdown and fought bravely until the very end. Munguia earned his assuredly massive paycheck.

Quite frankly, Munguia takes a decent bit of cache away from this fight. Jaime rose off the canvas, continued to fight and even showed off some decent skills at time. This loss has done much more for Munguia than most (if not all) of his previous victories.

MARIO BARRIOS
RESULT: DEF. FABIAN MAIDANA, 12UD (WELTERWEIGHT)
GRADE: B
To his credit, Mario Barrios made the Fabian Maidana win a lot more comfortable for himself than some might have presumed heading into the contest.

Barrios is known as a boxer-puncher that can certainly be in exciting fights and Maidana, younger brother of Marcos Maidana, is certainly looking for a tear-up. However, after weathering an early storm and dropping Maidana in the third, Barrios settled down and allowed his straight shots, lead by the jab, to settle his foe down.

Down the stretch of the contest, Barrios was calm and composed, doing little more than required to dictate terms and keep the fight under control. It wasn't a dynamic performance, but a professional one.

With the win, Barrios keeps himself in the mix in a seemingly wide open 147 pound division.

BRANDON FIGUEROA
RESULT: DEF. JESSIE MAGDALENO, 9KO (WELTERWEIGHT)
GRADE: B-
At points in the career of a fighter, you're not always going to dazzle. Sometimes, you lace 'em up, get out there, and just need to make sure you get the victory.

Sometimes, that happens because you're having an off night or maybe shaking off some ring rust. In other cases, you could be adjusting to a new trainer or just working on some things before a bigger, more prominent fight develops down the line.

For whatever reason, it felt like Brandon Figueroa was in one of those kind of fights with his win over Jessie Magdaleno.

Figueroa wasn't terrible, and he certainly ended the night strong with a body blow KO at the very end of the ninth. Still, getting there was a bit more workman like than spectacular. Still, you see Figueroa has the dimensions and the tools to be a problem for many at 12y pounds.

Here's hoping he proves that against someone more lively in the coming months.

EIMANTIS STANIONIS
RESULT: DEF. GABRIEL MAESTRE, 12UD (WELTERWEIGHT)
GRADE: B-
Coming off of about two years of inactivity, it looked like it could be a horrible return for Eimantis Stanionis early on against Gabriel Maestre.

In the opening frame, Maestre landed a solid shot that momentarily troubled the heavy favorite in Stanionis. However, to his credit, Eimantis steadied himself and began working himself through the gears.

Maestre tried to make it tough, never giving into the pressure of Stanionis and using tricky defense on the inside that didn't allow Eimantis to land cleanly. Nonetheless, Stanionis continued to throw and picked up round after round down the stretch.

It wasn't a perfect performance by any stretch. However, with the win, Stanionis retains his fringe portion of the gold at 147 pounds and shakes off any potential ring rust he had to deal with due to the long stretch out of the ring.

LINKS:

- SCHEDULE & ODDS

- RESULTS

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