Jose Armando Resendiz appears to have a new challenger in his sights to go along with his upgraded title status.
BoxingScene has learned that Resendiz, the recently promoted full WBA 168lbs titleholder, is now in talks to next face Jaime Munguia. An exact timetable for the fight is not clear, though the hope is to stage it on a Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Prime Video show in early spring.
Where the matter stands depends on whom you ask, though several sources familiar with current negotiations have expressed optimism in the fight seeing the light of day.
At the very least, it provides the answer to the next best option in line for Munguia, 43-2 (35 KOs). The development comes as representatives for the former WBO 154lbs titlist and current top super middleweight contender declined to move forward with a proposed vacant IBF title fight with Osleys Iglesias, 14-0 (13 KOs).
Resendiz, 16-2 (11 KOs), was previously linked to a rumored showdown with former title challenger Edgar Berlanga, 23-2 (18 KOs). The suggested bout, had it been finalized, was targeted to land on the February 21 PBC on Prime pay-per-view event to be topped by the Mario Barrios-Ryan Garcia WBC welterweight title fight.
From a sales standpoint, it would have provided the card with a notable B-side attraction. However, Berlanga is just 1-2 in his past three starts, including a brutal knockout loss to Hamzah Sheeraz in his most recent outing last July 12 in Queens, New York, near his Brooklyn home base.
Munguia fought just once in 2025, though that singular occasion produced mixed results.
On the one hand, Munguia defeated France’s Bruno Surace via unanimous decision in May to avenge an upset knockout defeat five months prior in his hometown of Tijuana, Mexico. However, the aftermath was messy given that Munguia’s post-fight drug test produced an adverse finding for exogenous testosterone.
The subsequent investigation ended without Munguia facing any real disciplinary action, other than being limited to just one fight on the year.
Resendiz has not fought since his points win over Caleb Plant to claim the WBA interim 168lbs title in a major upset last May 31 in Las Vegas. It was among the year’s more stunning results; it also put Resendiz in a favorable position given the shift in the division’s landscape by year’s end.
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, 63-3-2 (39 KOs), was the undisputed champion at the time but lost to Terence Crawford, 42-0 (31 KOs), via unanimous decision last September. Crawford became a five-division champ with the feat, the final act of his legendary career, as he announced his retirement three months later.
Crawford’s exit from the sport opened up the 168lbs title picture, with the WBC, IBF and WBO belts all up for grabs. The only belt to change hands outside the ring was the WBA, as Resendiz was formally upgraded in the sanctioning body’s most recent ratings cycle.
Uzbekistan’s Bektemir Melikuziev, 16-1 (10 KOs), is the current No. 1 contender to the title. However, the WBA has yet to declare the 2016 Olympic silver medalist as the mandatory challenger, which leaves Resendiz with wiggle room to secure a voluntary defense.
