Jaime Munguia is in talks to face unbeaten super middleweight contender
Erik Bazinyan on September 21st in Arizona.
Salvador Rodriguez reports the Munguia (43-1, 34 KOs) and the highly ranked Bazinyan (32-0-1, 23 KOs) are negotiating.
Munguia Eyes Quick Return After Canelo Loss
Munguia is looking to rebuild quickly after suffering his first career defeat against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on May 4th. He lost a competitive twelve-round unanimous decision to Canelo and was dropped in the fourth.
It’s unclear whether Munguia’s promoters are hoping to maneuver him into another mandatory spot to get him a speedy rematch with Canelo. That would appear to be the case because Munguia won’t get a big payday against anyone else in the 168-lb division, which is void of popular fighters.
David Benavidez, Edgar Berlanga, and Caleb Plant are the only semi-popular guys in this super middleweight division. Benavidez won’t be able to make 168 much longer, and he’s just hanging around trying to get a fight against Canelo, which might never happen.
Bazinyan, 29, is coming off a ten-round draw against Shakeel Phinn last May in Montreal, Canada. Many boxing fans had Phinn winning that fight, and they felt it was a gift draw for the Armenian-born.
Parallel Paths: Munguia and Bazinyan
The 11-year professional Bazinyan is ranked #2 WBO, #3 WBA, #6 WBC and #8 IBF, but his resume is filled with lesser opposition from top to bottom. In that respect, Bazinyan is similar to Munguia, which has an inflated 43-1 resume, filled with wins over lesser fighters.
It’s unclear why Bazinyan hasn’t been matched against better fighters during his career, as he should have already fought top-tier competition by now, given that he’s been in the pro ranks for over a decade and he’s nearing 30.
It’s paid off for Munguia to be matched against tomato cans his entire career because he got a big payday against Canelo and is now set for life.
Ideally, the sanctioning bodies should have forced Munguia to fight someone good before getting a high ranking for a title shot against Canelo. Before Munguia’s fight with Canelo last May, the top names on his resume were 38-year-old Sergiy Derevyanchenko, 35-year-old John Ryder, and 38-year-old Gabriel Rosado.
Bazinyan’s Notable Wins
Ronald Ellis
Alantez Fox
Saul Roman
Marcelo Esteban Coceres
Billi Facundo Godoy
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