Jaime Munguia is promising a new and improved version of himself Friday night when he takes Erik Bazinyan at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona headlining a Top Rank on ESPN card.
The super middleweight contender Munguia (43-1, 34 KOs) is looking to get back in the win column following the first professional loss of his career against fellow Mexican countryman Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in May.
Munguia is heading into the matchup against the Armenian Bazinyan (32-0-1, 23 KOs) by returning to familiar circumstances.
Munguia has been preparing for his Top Rank promotional debut by reuniting with Hall of Fame fighter turned coach Erik Morales. Munguia took a break from Morales, his head trainer since 2019, late last year due to Morales’ political obligations and linked up with Hall of Fame coach Freddie Roach.
Munguia looked masterful in their first fight together in January, dropping John Ryder four times en route to a ninth-round stoppage win to earn the Alvarez fight.
But during his career-defining opportunity, it was Munguia who was dropped. Despite the fourth-round knockdown, Munguia still crossed the finish line. In defeat, the Tijuana, Mexico native realized that training in Hollywood, California at Roach’s Wild Card Boxing gym was not the same as the San Bernardino Mountains of Big Bear two hours away at an altitude of nearly 6,700 feet.
So Munguia returned to the isolated alpine wilderness to the famed gym he purchased last year from Abel Sanchez, Gennadiy Golovkin’s former trainer.
“We had to make the changes after the Alvarez fight,” Munguia told BoxingScene through a Spanish interpreter. “I am not happy with the result. I think training in altitude would have helped in that fight … We wanted to return to the altitude, so principally, that was [why I left Roach]. The altitude is an extra advantage during training. Freddie is a great coach and a great person but he really doesn’t leave Los Angeles. We wanted to return to the altitude. With Erik Morales, we’ve meshed really well and we’ve known each other for five years. We’re a great team. Now we are here, and I’m looking forward to another great fight against Bazinyan.”
Alvarez claimed he carried Munguia to save him from embarrassment, but Munguia has since debunked the myth. After a strong start, Munguia faded and lost the last nine rounds on two of three scorecards, while another judge only gave him one additional round.
“I always saw Canelo as a strong fighter who prepares really well,” said Munguia. “It was a great fight for the fans, and obviously I’m going to keep learning and adjusting. Every day we work hard, so that if that fight were to happen again, I would get my hand raised.”
Munguia is looking to bounce back against Bazinyan to better position himself for bigger fights at 168 pounds against the likes of Edgar Berlanga, Caleb Plant, Christian Mbilli, and Diego Pacheco.
“There are a lot of good fights in this division,” said Munguia. “As always, we will look for the knockout against Bazinyan.”
The confident Bazinyan is also looking to KO Munguia – something Alvarez couldn’t do – and leverage his newfound position to call for a fight against Alvarez in May, a similar blueprint Munguia followed with Ryder to land Alvarez.
“Bazinyan is an undefeated fighter for a reason. He has a lot of good qualities,” said Munguia. “He’s a great fighter. He’s strong and always comes to deliver a great show to the people, which is always what we look for. He’s a big man for the division. He manages his distance well and has a good jab, right hand and uppercut. We have to be careful.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine, and more. He’s been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
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