LAS VEGAS – There are eerie similarities between the arrivals that Manny Pacquiao and Jaime Munguia made upon first stepping foot into Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.

Each entered as a champion looking to become something more. Each listened diligently and applied the lessons learned. Each won their debut bout under Roach in impressive fashion. And each quickly gained the wise trainer’s fondness.

While Pacquiao proceeded to advance toward a breakout victory later against a fighter from Guadalajara, Mexico – Marco Antonio Barrera – the 27-year-old Munguia heads to T-Mobile Arena Saturday night to meet another Guadalajara great, undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.

“My fighter will knock this guy out between six and eight rounds,” Roach told BoxingScene in a Thursday interview, before the fighters weighed in Friday with Munguia coming in at 167.4 pounds and Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) weighing 166.8.

The confidence is rooted in Munguia’s dedication to learning, Roach said. 

“When Munguia first came to my gym, he asked if he could work out and I started giving him little instructions here and there. He listened very well. He’s a very good student. And I like working with guys like that, who not only listen, but take hold of it,” Roach said. “He got better and better as we went on.”

They were working toward a January date in Arizona against England’s John Ryder, who was coming off going the distance against Alvarez in his May 2023 Mexico homecoming bout.

Munguia repeatedly decked Ryder and finished him by ninth-round TKO.

“I was very confident he would beat the guy. He went out there and fought a terrific fight, knocked the guy down so many times, and Canelo only knocked the guy down once,” Roach said. “That was a fight where one guy dominated and the other didn’t.”

Munguia came to Roach for many reasons, including shoring up the defensive openings he allows when trying to batter his foe. He participated in the 2023 fight of the year while defeating Sergiy Derevyanchenko, but wanted to get hit less in such toe-to-toe battles.

“People say he has bad defense. I’m saying to myself, ‘Well, if he has bad defense, his offense is very good. He hits guys and makes them feel it,’” Roach said.

“So is he a defensive fighter or does it matter because he’s an offensive fighter?”

Roach contemplated.

“His defense is not bad. When he’s exchanging, once in a while he might get caught by a counterpunch when he’s punching. That happens in boxing,” Roach said. “I have no problem with his defense because we’ve worked hard on that every day.

“I want that (reputation) to go away. He’s a complete fighter. A good offensive and defensive fighter who moves his head well. I like him. He’s a great kid and fun to work with because he listens.”