Former WBO jr middleweight champion Jaime Munguia (34-0, 27 KOs) returns against Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan (30-3, 21 KOs) on January 11 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. ”Fighting at middleweight makes Jaime look looser in the ring, faster and at the same time stronger. He’ll be fighting at his natural weight,” says trainer Erik “Terrible” Morales.
“Munguia is a fighter who will mature both individually and as a boxer. He’s 22 years old and still has much to give and learn, even though he’s already been a world champion. He has that natural talent, but at the same time he very quickly gets the instructions and advice we give him, and we have a lot of faith that he’ll achieve his second world championship at middleweight.”
Not a bad match up but not great either.
O’Sullivan tried to challenge elite fighters three times (Lemieux, Eubank and BJ Saunders) and lost these fights decisively. I don’t know how he can seriously challenge Munguia, but at least he’s a solid B- fighter. Spike can hit hard but he’s not particularly skilled.
Munguia’s last two years were extremely successful, with wins over tough competition (Liam Smith, Dennis Hogan, etc.). This will be his first fight at 160lbs and I think it will work better for him than 154lbs, which seemed to drain him too much.
I think they are in different leagues, and everything but a TKO/KO win by Munguia would surprise me.
Munguia got a gift decision to Hogan. Munguia is a big guy who uses his size to plow his opponents. He’s a one trick pony. If he can’t muscle Spike around this could be a long night for Munguia.
I have to agree: Hogan won that fight: he knew exactly how to exploit Munguia’s weaknesses. For me, it was a Hogan win, and not even a draw, what to speak of a loss.
O’Sullivan is no Hogan though and Munguia should be better at middle weight. Regardless, Hogan deserves a rematch.
Munguia is good (A- or B+ fighter) but not great. If he can’t improve, he won’t even make it into the top 8 at middleweight. I still expect him to knock out O’Sullivan.
Personally, I think Munguia needs a lot more time in the gym learning and understanding fundamentals. He makes so many mistakes as a basic boxer. However, his decent chin and large size compensates for those deficits. His footwork and head movement is not so great which leaves himself open for both lead punches and counters. I am not sold on this guy yet. More time is needed for me to observe him to say “he’s great”.
I don’t think anyone calls him “great”?
He’s clearly not, but he has potential. I hope he understands that and is willing to improve. But if he is delusional and thinks he is already a star, he will be knocked out very soon.
Sorry, did not mean anyone calls him great. This was a strictly a subjective statement on my own behalf with my own personal observations. Have a great day.
I think you ‘subjective statement’ about his abilities (or lack thereof) was quite on the mark.
Another big KO for Munguia…
Ok . lets see it
Shouldnt be much of a fight
The guy looks like a monkey! And no doubt about it he should be chasing BooBoo or Charlo.
He’s not ready for the best guys at 154 let alone 160. That’s why they fed him guys he had a size advantage against and he still struggled. Believe me, Oscar won’t even mention him against either one of them and certainly won’t put him in against them. He won’t even put Canelo in with them because those are difficult fights stylewise, yet Munguia with all his defensive lapses and flaws? It ain’t happening.
I think the task is not only to teach Munguia how to box better and improve his defense, but also to find another Sadam Ali to crown him at middleweight, and honestly I don’t see someone similar to him around. Andrade, Murata, Charlo ,Golovkin, Canelo? Two wizards could help him to get a belt…. maybe, Gilberto Mendoza Jr. and Sulaiman. That is the only way I believe, because these two are a mass production belt makers.
Would not, or could not,unify jr. Mids
I wonder when Munguia will take on the aging ( but highly dangerous ) GGG, Now, that’s the fight I want to seee., and with his youth going for him , I think the kid has a good chance for an upset…
The last time I saw O’Sullivan fight, he and his mustache were ko’d by Lemieux by the time the bell rang and I went to the fridge to get a beer! Golden Boy thought they had a major star on their hands with Munguia and seem determined to prove themselves right, but his championship reign has been pretty unimpressive since his detruction of Sadam Ali. He definitely got a gift decision against Hogan. Perhaps the move up to Middleweight will benefit him as he always looks two weight divisions bigger than his opponents, but moving up in weight isn’t going to help a porous defense. Munguia is great if he’s dominating the fight, but if he’s in with someone who can answer back (which is pretty much everyone at this level) he struggles. I don’t see him winning a version of the middleweight title anytime soon.
Munguia is still young and has time and room to improve. He has the gifts, but they definitely need to keep him on the prospect trail and avoid the true contender/championship path for a couple years. Work on jab, defense and combinations. As long as he accepts instructions he could still become a serious threat.
Spike is a perfect opponent! He’s a marketable commodity that is still very beatable, but isn’t a total can either.