Photos: Stacey Verbeek
WBO junior middleweight champion Jaime Munguia (32-0, 26 KOs) prevailed in a twelve round slugfest against previously unbeaten Takeshi Inoue (13–1-1, 7 KOs) on Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
The brawling, granite-jawed Inoue gave Munguia problems all night, but the champ’s offensive firepower and brutal body attack made the difference. And as usual, Munguia’s defensive shortcomings made for thrilling exchanges. After twelve rounds of war, judges had it 120-108, 120-108, 119-109.
Jaime Munguia: “I was surprised by his ability to take punches. He took a lot of punches to the head and to the body. He took punches that would have dropped anyone else.
“I feel I got a lot of experience from this fight. I will keep working on using my distance. There were times where he was able to cut the distance, and I want to work on that.”
Takeshi Inoue: “With 31 wins and no losses, Munguia was not just a power puncher but a great boxer. We both had the skill to kill the other’s boxing style. He was the better fighter tonight. I hope to get better and come back to the United States to fight again.”
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