The knock on Jaime Munguia of late is the uninspiring competition he’s been facing.
His 2022 campaign featured a trio of fights against the likes of Gonzalo Coria, Jimmy Kelly, and D'Mitrius Ballard. It didn’t fare much better in 2021 when it came to quality, as Munguia faced Gabriel Rosado and Kamil Szeremeta.
Munguia (41-0, 33 KOs) has been stringing together wins against the lackluster competition, and many are calling for the 26-year-old to make a bigger leap 10 years into his pro career.
Up next for the Tijuana native Munguia is Sergiy Derevyanchenko (14-4, 10 KOs) on June 10 at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, Calif. headlining a card on DAZN.
“It was there for the taking. It was easy to make. This is the best fight we can make for Jaime Munguia at the time,” said Munguia co-promoter Oscar De La Hoya.
“Every fight that Jaime Munguia is in is a tough fight, is a difficult fight, especially Derevyanchenko because of his style. It's going to be the clash of the titans, and an all out war. And that's the reason they love watching Jaime Munguia. He's a warrior. He's a fan favorite when he steps inside the ring.”
The match will mark the super middleweight debut for both fighters.
De La Hoya said Munguia is fighting at 168 pounds because the WBC did not honor a request to make the winner of Munguia-Derevyanchenko the mandatory challenger for Jermall Charlo's 160-pound WBC belt.
Munguia, a former 154-pound titlist, had an opportunity to fight for the interim 160-pound WBO title against Janibek Alimkhanuly last year but punted on the opportunity. Alimkhanuly eventually found a new opponent, beat Denzel Bentley and picked up the full title once former champion Demetrius Andrade moved up to 168 pounds.
The 37-year-old Derevyanchenko has lost four out of his last six fights dating back to 2018 against the likes of Daniel Jacobs, Gennadiy Golovkin, Jermall Charlo, and Carlos Adames.
It can be argued that Munguia’s best win to date was his 2018 unanimous decision victory against Liam Smith. Smith has since revived his career with stoppage wins against Chris Eubank Jr. and Jessie Vargas .
“People know Derevyanchenko is going to come to fight. He's a dangerous fighter. People know it's going to be a tough fight. A difficult fight,” said De La Hoya. “Jaime Munguia is a fan favorite and a special fighter. He's only getting better, stronger, faster, and wiser. It will be an all-action packed fight. Hopefully we'll have Jaime Munguia moving on to bigger and better things.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
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