Via Allan Fox: Jaime Munguia wants to compete for the IBF Gennadiy Golovkin middleweight title in 2022 and he hopes that can happen soon. Munguia (38-0, 30 KOs) believes he is ready to beat Golovkin now, but he needs a chance.
Munguia will be in the spotlight next month against the little known 2nd tier D’Mitrius Ballard (21-0-1, 13 KOs) on DAZN on February 19 at Plaza de Toros, Tijuana, Mexico. This is a huge relegation step for Munguia from his last game against competitor Gabe Rosado last November.
It’s not clear why DAZN gave Munguia the green light to go up against Ballard instead of insisting that he go up against a quality opponent. It wasn’t a great fight for boxing fans, nor was it one that brought in many subscribers. The head of DAZN should have insisted that Munguia have to fight one of these boxers:
- Zhanibek Alimkhanuly
- Juan Macias Montiel
- Chris Eubank Jr
With Canelo Alvarez fighting at 168 years old, it causes a talent gap with the best fighters leaving the 160 lb division like rats fleeing from a sinking ship. There was space left at 160 when Canelo was gone, leaving flawed fighters like Munguia at the top of the rankings despite their limited talent.
For Munguia to head to Ballard instead of a quality opponent, it was disappointing, to say the least.
Ballard recently drew a controversial 12th round draw against Yamaguchi Falcao in 2019 in a match many boxing fans assumed he lost. In the only fight since, Ballard defeated top laner Paul Valenzuela Jr with a winning goal in the 10th round last September.
Some boxing fans believe Munguia’s career revolves around him only search for exclusive big money matches without any intention of trying to win a world title.
Right now, a handful of fighters are taking that approach to their careers, and it’s sad that they end up waiting a long time for money fights instead of trying to win the rankings. high and fight for world titles the way traditional boxers do. That’s a strange approach.
With his unyielding pursuit for the lucrative fight, former WBO 154-lb champion Munguia (38-0.30 KOs) avoided a championship belt with 160-lb WBO champion Demetrius Andrade, instead on it wanted to wait for the fight with Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs).
“They were the first to find us, but we were always interested in GGG and we still care,” Munguia said of Golovkin.
GGG was interested in playing Munguia four years ago in 2018, but the match didn’t happen after a state commission blocked it. Then Munguia didn’t have the necessary experience to take on Golovkin, and it would have been a horribly wrong match.
Since then, Munguia has defeated most of the caliber candidates such as Dennis Hogan, Gary O’Sullivan, Kamil Szeremeta, Brandon Cook, Takeshi Inoue and Tureano Johnson.
“If it happens, it will be a great fight, a shocking war, and the fight will be accepted by the fans. We are determined to fight him,” Munguia said of the fight between him and Golovkin.
I don’t know if you could describe the fight between Golovkin and Munguia as a “Great War”, but it would be an upgrade on the underpowered opposition the two boxers have consistently celebrated. big.
Golovkin hasn’t beaten anyone well since his loss to Canelo Alvarez in 2018, and many boxing fans believe the Kazakh boxer is just waiting for a high-profile match with the Mexican star.
It’s disappointing as Golovkin was one of the biggest stars in the US from 2012 to 2019, but he’s been gone since his loss to Canelo and has only fought three times since against mediocre opposition. .
Munguia will need to take on GGG soon as he turns 40 in April and he is idly waiting for a money-making match against 160-lb WBA champion Ryota Murata. The two were due to fight in December in Japan, but due to travel bans they are off the table now.
Golovkin has rarely fought since his controversial 12th round decisive loss to Canelo Alvarez in 2019. As a result, Golovkin has nothing to show for having sat inactive throughout 2021. Looking back. , Golovkin better defend his IBF belt than wait for Murata.
If Golovkin can’t fight against Murata or Canelo, he’ll probably agree to go head to head with Munguia, but at this point it might not be a good idea. Munguia will be an uphill fight for Golovkin.
Golovkin’s easy win 2-3 years ago Munguia could turn into a nightmare for him now due to his aging and inactivity.
