Fighter of the Week (1/22-1/28): Jaime Munguia
It was a loaded Saturday of Boxing DAZN and had 12 consecutive hours of high-level boxing with vintage knockouts, hot shot prospects, and world championship performances. However, one fighter stands out above the rest. The now 27-year-old Tijuana seek-and-destroy KO artist Jaime Munguia scored what is likely the best win of his career and added the best name to his resume. The Mexican star scored a 9th round TKO of British contender and former world title challenger John Ryder to move his record to 43-0 (34), pick up his second consecutive win at 168, take home his WBC Silver title, and our Fighter of the Week award, plus puts himself firmly in the Canelo sweepstakes.
The expectations around Munguia are growing. He is 27 in his prime, no longer a young prospect who got to a belt way too soon. His level of competition needed to get better, and it has. A dramatic 2022 win over Derevyanchenko was an indication of things to come. 2023 kicked off with the biggest challenge of his career. The Mexican super middleweight passed the test with flying colors. Munguia got cooking in the first round a six-punch combination lit up the South Paw Ryder. A similar combination put Ryder down on the canvas in the second round as a bum-rushing Ryder looked to have a ton of heart but not many answers. Another beautifully placed 1-2, while he had Ryder in the corner, dropped the Brit once again, and the end was nearing. Ryder slammed on the gas and tried to engage Munguia into a slugfest in the fifth, and Munguia was willing to engage. Things got no better for Ryder as the Mexican drove his opponent into the ropes with a right hand with a few seconds left in the fifth. Ryder rallied a little bit in the sixth, but it was his final stand. Munguia regained dominance in the seventh and finished things out in the eighth and ninth. Munguia seemed on the verge of scoring the stoppage as he poured on the power shots. Ryder survived the eighth and went out for the ninth. Just seconds into the round, Ryder was dropped again by another barrage of power shots. He beat the count again but was again dropped almost immediately. The towel was thrown in by the corner of Ryder.
You combine that with his dramatic come-from-behind win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko last year, and you are seeing the real improvements made by the Tijuanan. He is now a legitimate opponent for Canelo. However, if that can't be made next, Munguia is going to have a litany of excellent options for his next fight. Christian Mbilli is a name mentioned quite a bit and would be a fan-friendly scrap. Bek Melikuziev is with Golden Boy, and would be an easy fight to make. Oscar could work with Eddie Hearn and put Munguia in the ring with either Diego Pacheco or Edgar Berlanga. The Berlanga fight would be a massive showdown and a great chapter to add to the Mexico vs Puerto Rico rivalry. Any of the aforementioned fights would be thrilling and massive paydays for all parties involved.
