By Miguel Rivera
Jaime Munguia will be ready for whatever mandatory challenger Liam Smith brings to the table on July 21 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, but he has a hunch that his first defense of the WBO junior middleweight title will not last long - and not because he's overconfident, but because the styles of both indicate it.
Two weeks to go before their expected fight, Munguia says he is in great shape and increasingly motivated to work with Roberto Alcazar in California, with whom he trained with for only a few weeks when he dethroned Saddam Ali on May 12.
"I have a hunch that the fight will not last long," Munguia said ESPN Deportes. "We are preparing with everything and we will be ready for anything, the idea is to win round by round and always to set our fight rhythm, but I feel that because of his style and mine - people are not going to see a long fight, and I'm sure it's going to end in my favor."
Munguia expressed his confidence in confirming his quality against an opponent who is already known on American soil and who was last seen competing with Canelo Alvarez on HBO Pay-Per-View in 2016.
"We have already studied him, he is a fighter who likes to comes forward. I think his style is going to fit more to mine, people saw very little of me in comparison to Smith and now I hope they see a little more of me," Munguia added.
For now, Munguia has dismissed the recent comments that were made by promoter Oscar de la Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions - who would like to promote Munguia in the United States. The Mexican champion is promoted by Fernando Beltran of Zanfer Promotions.
"Actually I have not heard any of that, but my focus is Liam Smith for now. My promoter is Zanfer and I have to respond to the trust that HBO, Zanfer and Golden Boy have placed in me. I can not think about anything beyond that, my only focus is Liam Smith and we'll get well prepared for this fight, which is important," Munguia said.
The young boxer has a record of 29-0 with 25 knockouts, while Smith has a tally of 26-1-1 and 14 knockouts - with the sole loss coming at the hands of Canelo.
