At a time of year when lists are being compiled around the world, Bruno Surace finds himself at the top of many of them.
It is not Christmas lists, or a list of who has been naughty or who has been nice, but rather in the Review of the Year lists, where the unheralded Frenchman now owns the Upset of the Year almost beyond dispute.
On Saturday, the man from Marseille fought in Tijuana, Mexico and knocked out Jaime Munguia, one of the world’s finest super middleweights, with a storming right hand that ended their contest with a single shocking blow.
After 2:36 of the sixth round, Surace had completed the impossible. Having been down on the scorecards, and dropped in round two, the visitor had turned things around completely. He joins Canelo Alvarez as the only man in 46 attempts to defeat Munguia, and Surace stopped Munguia, while Canelo settled for a decision earlier in the year.
“Saturday night was an incredible night. As a kid, I always wanted to box on the big stage and that was the first time in my career in a big stadium in the home of boxing… Mexico is the land of many great boxers, and in front of [Julio Cesar Chavez Snr], it was a very big night,” an elated Surace told BoxingScene.
Surace had previously only scored five stoppages in 26 wins (with two draws), but he not only has an Upset of the Year frontrunner on his hands, but he has a Knockout of the Year contender, too.
“I didn’t realize when I threw my punch [it was all over], but when I saw him fall, I saw his eyes [go blank], and he didn’t get up. And I knew he wouldn’t get up.
“It was a victory for me, for my family and friends, and to friends who supported me. I didn’t think about the people who didn’t believe in me. My main thoughts were about the people who believed in me.”
Surace was supposed to be a tick-over fight for Munguia, a fourth outing of the year after good wins over John Ryder and Erik Bazinyan. The WBC had just ordered him to fight Christian Mbilli in an eliminator next year, but Surace knew he would have a part to play in those negotiations. He also knows how unexpected his victory was.
“I was very confident,” the 26-year-old explained. “You know, I fight with the will of winning. I know I’m the underdog but I come with the will of winning and I was fully confident.
“I know it’s a very very big upset, and with my friend we have searched through all the upsets through the years in the last few years, 2020, 2021… and I guess it’s one of the biggest.”
Talk has gone on to an immediate rematch. However, Surace said in the ring immediately afterwards that he’s not even a true 168-pounder and that he would likely return south. But with so many big-name opportunities at super middle, that might not be financially prudent.
“I will wait to see what opportunities there are, but my natural weight class is middleweight,” he added.
“We are in discussions [about a return]. We talk about the rematch, so we will keep it in our minds and it will be interesting.
“You know, every fighter wants to fight Canelo, and me too. I want to fight him because he’s one of the best boxers of all time, and sure, I want to fight him.”
The role of the underdog and the dead cert are poles apart. One has the weight of expectation planted solely on their shoulders, the other is surrounded by air and opportunity, and Surace felt the weightlessness of both having nothing to prove and nothing to lose. Instead, he fought knowing that a single shot could change everything.
“I know this fight could change my life, so when I threw a punch, I kept it in mind that it could change my life, so I was 100 per cent focused and motivated by that,” Surace explained.
“Pressure was only on his shoulders because it was in his backyard, in his country. He is The Man, and the pressure was only on his shoulders. The only pressure that I have is to be great, so I was very cool.”
Before flying back to France, Surace said it was now time to rest, enjoy time with his loved ones and to sit back while all of those Upset of the Year lists are rolled out with his name at the top of them.
“I will do Christmas with my family, and I will take some rest,” he said. “It will be a standard Christmas. A very classic Christmas.”
Doubtless it will also be a very happy one in the Surace household, too.
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