By Jake Donovan
At the time of securing a title fight for Jaime Munguia, the Zanfer Promotions team knew to be proactive in lining up a business partner for next steps in the career of their young star.
There was little doubt on their end that the super welterweight from Mexico would make Sadam Ali regret agreeing to his being a late replacement for Liam Smith in their title fight last May. What they didn’t want to regret, was being left out in the cold once he’d accomplish that, which came in the form of a brutal one-sided 5th round knockout.
“When Jaime Munguia won the title and shocked the world, of course we needed to do a strategic partnership to bring him to the next level,” admitted Fernando Beltran, head of Zanfer Promotions. “The middleweights are the best division in boxing, without a doubt and we have no question Jaime can become the very best.
Fortunately, they didn’t have to look very far to secure a willing taker. Munguia’s title-snatching effort over Ali was promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, who represented Ali at the time but was more than eager to secure promotional rights on the victor.
“When I first saw Jaime Munguia, I said to myself, he has the potential to become a great world champion,” recalled Oscar de la Hoya during Thursday’s press conference for Munguia’s upcoming title defense versus Takeshi Inoue this Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. “That’s why we put him in with Sadam Ali. We knew it was a dangerous fight for both guys.
“We never thought that Jaime Munguia would destroy Sadam Ali the way he did. That’s when we formed an alliance with Zanfer Promotions.”
Zanfer and Golden Boy have partnered up for the entirety of Munguia’s reign, including a pair of HBO-funded title defenses last summer.
“We have a long friendship with Oscar and with Eric Gomez,” noted Beltran. “There is great synergy. We have the same vision, we care about the fighters.”
It was a smart move, especially with Munguia’s desire to eventually move up in weight. In the 154-pound division, the pickings can get slim in a hurry considering that most of its best talent resides under the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) umbrella, whose athletes primarily fight on Showtime and Fox Sports’ desired platforms.
In fact, Munguia (31-0, 26KOs) was originally supposed to move up to middleweight for his first major opportunity—a crack at Gennady Golovkin.
At the time an unknown 21-year old prospect on the rise, the suggestion of his name as a suitable replacement for Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez—who two positive drug tests forced a postponement of his rematch with Golovkin—wouldn’t fly with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Golovkin kept the May 5 fight date, moving the party to California where he annihilated Vanes Martirosyan in two rounds.
Meanwhile, Munguia stayed put at super welterweight, where he still resides as a defending titlist. Just two months after his title win over Ali, the lean slugger from Tijuana turned away the challenge of Liam Smith last July live on HBO, which in turn led to a third fight within a four-month span as he returned on the most-watched Pay-Per-View event of 2018.
In the chief support to countryman Alvarez edging Gennady Golovkin in their rescheduled middleweight championship rematch last September, Munguia needed just three rounds to dust off Brandon Cook. While he was openly rooting for Alvarez to win the main event, he also wanted to send a message in his own performance.
“Middleweight is the best division and DAZN has the best two middleweights in the world—Canelo Alvarez and Danny Jacobs,” noted Beltran in their decision to extend its deal with Golden Boy and fight exclusively on the sport’s streaming service.”
Alvarez and Jacobs will face each other on May 4 at a location to be determined, although the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas—where Alvarez has headlined in four of his last six starts—remains the frontrunner. As he did last September, Munguia would love nothing more than to appear on the undercard—after all, a three-month turnaround is hardly a new experience for the unbeaten 22-year old who crammed three title fights in a four-month span.
“We believe Jaime Munguia is right there along with them, and we look forward to one day challenging the best,” insists Beltran.
Until he can get the best in the ring, fighting on a platform constantly looking to fill dates is a match made in heaven for a young boxer as active as Munguia.
“It’s a real pleasure to work with Oscar and with Eric Gomez and their sensational team,” Beltran says of the group effort to evolve Munguia into boxing’s next star. “And to work on this platform, a platform that will take boxing to the next level.”
