By: Sean Crose
Sadam Ali. Liam Smith. Gary O’Sullivan. Gabriel Rosado. Sergiy Derevyanchenko. These are not the biggest names in boxing. They are, however, the names of notable boxers who have plied their trade over the last ten years at least. And they’ve all been defeated by Jaime Munguia. Indeed, the now super middleweight hasn’t lost a bout in 42 fights. Mungia hopes to continue his winning streak this weekend in Phoenix, Arizona when he takes on the rugged John Ryder – himself no slouch. Should he win on Saturday, Munguia may find himself facing the one and only Canelo Alvarez this coming spring.
None of this means Munguia should be looking too far ahead. Heavyweights Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder found themselves in a large amount of trouble recently for arguably looking too far ahead when they had serious competitors in front of them. And, again, Ryder is no joke. He’s defeated the likes of Daniel Jacobs, after all, on top of taking Canelo a full twelve rounds last May. While it’s true he lost to the red haired star, there’s no denying he proved to be as tough as they come. Yet Munguia has proven how tough he can be, as well.
For instance, last June the 27 year old fought an absolute war against Derevyanchenko. As Boxing Insider wrote at the time: “It looked like the fight was Derevyanchenko’s when Munguia shockingly dropped him with a body shot in the final round.” Indeed, one can imagine this Saturday’s match likewise being a war. Munguia carries thunder in his fists while Ryder will literally keep throwing punches while stumbling about from an opponent’s blows. Saturday’s throwdown may well be a high intensity affair, which will be great for fans watching live on DAZN, provided that (as always) no one suffers some serious damage.
With that being said, Saturday night should belong to Munguia. Ryder is perfectly capable of shocking the world, of course, but will he be able to this weekend in Phoenix? The answer, simply put, is probably not. That doesn’t mean the matchup doesn’t have value. Munguia, who is being trained by the legendary Freddie Roach, is nothing if not fun to watch, and Ryder has Balboaesque heart, not to mention some crisp skills of his own. And then of course there’s the fight with Canelo possibly being on the line for Munguia. Fans will likely find good reason to tune in this weekend.