TIJUANA, Mexico – Jaime Munguia is not resting comfortably following a career-high payday and clash against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in May.
On Saturday night, the super middleweight contender will fight for the fourth time in 322 days when he takes on Bruno Surace at the Estadio Caliente in Tijuana, Mexico on ESPN+.
Munguia, 44-1 (35 KOs), has already gotten back into the win column following his unanimous decision defeat to Alvarez courtesy of a 10th-round KO of Erik Bazinyan in September. The victory made for an ideal first fight with new promoter Top Rank. Munguia had also fought in January, knocking out John Ryder to set up the Alvarez fight.
The unknown Frenchman Surace, 25-0-2 (4 KOs), certainly is no Alvarez, or even Ryder or Bazinyan for that matter, but activity and a homecoming event are just as important for the 28-year-old Mexican as he sets his sights on bigger names at 168lbs in 2025.
“It’s always a great motivation to return to the ring,” Munguia told BoxingScene through a Spanish translator. “My motivation for this fight is coming home to Tijuana, show what I’ve learned and achieved, and give them a beautiful fight. I’m very happy, and we’re going to try to continue that activity.”
Following the fight against Munguia, Alvarez claimed he carried his countryman to the final bell after knocking him down in the fourth round.
“No, I’m not offended with all of the things that he said, that he allowed me to survive,” said Munguia. “He kind of contradicted himself because, on one hand, he said that he let me survive, but before then, he also said if he had the opportunity he would’ve knocked me out.
“[To get the Alvarez rematch I need to] keep fighting, keep growing, keep delivering good performances, and if that fight happens, then the people will have to ask for it … The fight elevated my popularity a lot. A lot more people know me, and we’re going to try to keep maintaining a high level of fights.”
A rematch against Alvarez appears highly unlikely in 2025, but fights against the likes of Edgar Berlanga, Caleb Plant, and Christian Mbilli do not. If it were up to Munguia, however, he prefers bouts with either Berlanga or Plant, two of Alvarez’s other conquests.
“There are ways to make agreements. With any fight, there are negotiations. That’s how we’ll make it possible,” said Munguia.
Guiding Munguia’s career is longtime co-promoter Fernando Beltran, the head of Zanfer Boxing. He will be tasked with making the best matchups possible for Munguia.
“I think both [Berlanga and Plant] fights are very makeable,” Beltran told BoxingScene. “They are easy to make. I don’t see much else. Mbilli and Diego Pacheco have been mentioned as well. I respect Eddie Hearn, but Pacheco is not a ticket seller. But whoever Jaime wants. I would love to see the rematch versus Canelo. I think we were one year too early. But Canelo is the boss, and he makes the moves for his career. Maybe in the not-too-distant future [we can make the David Benavidez fight].”
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 has 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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