Super middleweight Jaime Munguia is back in the win column after his first career defeat against Canelo Alvarez in May.
Munguia engaged in a war with Erik Bazinyan at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on the back of making a slow start. After going through the gears in the mid-round, Munguia turned on the style towards the end and got the stoppage he wanted. With the win, Munguia improves to 44-1 following a 35th knockout.
The previously unbeaten Bazinyan didn’t look out of place at the top level but dropped to 32-1-1, 23 KOs, after also going down to his first loss. Bazinyan had begun the fight brightly and landed some good right hands, but in the end, found Munguia a bridge too far.
During his post-fight interview, Munguia gave props to Bazinyan as he targeted more significant names for 2025.
“It was a fight I had to do intelligently. He’s strong. He hits hard. So, we had to break him down and be careful with shots to the body,” said Munguia. “In the tenth round, that’s when I decided to come out with everything. And that’s how we got the knockout.”
On what’s next, Munguia added, “There are great things to come, great fights at 168 pounds. There’s Caleb Plant, {Edgar} Berlanga, Christian Mbilli. There are great fights, and we will give great wars as well.”
In addition, Bazinyan said, “I felt like I was winning. I felt he was very frustrated with my jab, right hand, and counters. He was getting tired. All of a sudden, I got caught. I don’t know what happened there.”
The 168-pound division is on fire at the moment, with Munguia joining several contenders who are hunting a world title shot if Canelo moves up next year.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
