By Miguel Maravilla
Photos: Stacey Verbeek
WBO junior middleweight world champion Jaime Munguia (34-0, 27 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico successfully defended his title for the fifth time with a knockout over Patrick Allotey (40-4, 30 KOs) of Ghana in four rounds Saturday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
“I’m happy with my performance. This was a good victory to celebrate Mexican Independence Day weekend,” Munguia said. “I felt good. It was a process working him and breaking him down. When I knocked him down with a body shot he was breathing heavy.”
Allotey was sent to the hospital following the fight.
“I hope he is well and I wish him a speedy recovery and the best,” said Munguia.
This was Munguia’s first fight training under former world champion Erik Morales.
“Morales made me think more in the ring. He has a lot of experience. I give Erik and my whole team credit for this victory.”
The champ had indicated all week that this would be his last fight in the 154-pound junior middleweight division.
“I will talk to my team and think about what’s next,” he said. “I can’t tell you right now who my next opponent will be. I will likely move up to 160, have two fights and see if we can fight for a world title.”
Zanfer Promotions CEO Fernando Beltran also talked about Munguia’s future and possible options at 160.
“He will rest and go on vacation. I would like for him to fight in December. He’s a very active fighter and was good tonight. He would like to return to Tijuana for his first fight at 160. We will sit down and talk about it.”
Follow Miguel on Twitter @MigMaravilla
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Jaime: How about finishing your business in the 154 lb division. There are other champs and you might get lucky and actually unify a division? Or is it more important to get killed by several of the 160 lbers ? Unifying a division at this point in history not only helps your legacy it also helps the sorry state of this sport.
Munguia can’t make 154 any more. Get killed at 160? I don’t think so. Munguia is a protected fighter and the less thing his management would do is throw him under the bus. I am very sure his run at 160 will start with some mild opposition, avoiding those that certainly will destroy him. So, if some expect him fighting Jermall Charlo, Jarrett Hurd, Andrade, Murata in the near future, I think has to wait.
Gabriel Rosado, Michael Zerafa, Tureano Johnson, Hugo Centeno, Jr. and some other in that level, are the ones that he might be facing at 160
Too many caught up in these artificial junior divisions that do nothing but dilute the already too many titles. Middleweight for years was 147-160 and still should be.
Munguia,great feeling fighting smaller guys.
Hogan and Sergio Garcia can’t punch that hard, Liam Smith can’t take the body shots, if the Japanese dude was going to win, he laid everything he had on Munguia already. Carlos Adames vs Munguia would be a good fight. You’ve got 2 Russians in the top 7 as well.
1 Carlos Adames (NABO) DR
2 Patrick Teixeira (Latino) BRA
3 Dennis Hogan AUST (lost close fight to Munguia)
4 Bakhram Murtazaliev RUS
5 Kell Brook UK
6 Liam Smith UK (already lost to Munguia)
7 Aram Amirkhanyan RUS
8 Jama Saidi (WBO Europe) GER
9 Brian Carlos Castano ARG
10 Sergio Garcia SPN (undefeated, at 154 for at least 6 yrs)
11 Takeshi Inoue (Asia Pacific) JPN (lost a tough fight to Munguia)
I can’t give Munguia a lot of credit. His game has some very significant flaws. Allotey was having some success, he was just overpowered. I like munguia but he is not ready for the elite at 160. Someone with enough speed and pop in their punch will hurt him badly. He needs to work on his speed because at 160 I don’t see him overpowering guys that easily. Allotey caught him with some punches that make wonder what would happen if anyone at 160 landed him them…
Not just on this post but other posts as well, I hear guys talking about Mungia beating up smaller fighters and he must be so proud.. well guess what, he’s a big dude but he makes the weight SO it is what it is. If the smaller fighters aren’t liking that, then they shld drop to the lower weight classes and be the bigger man. Every fighter cuts weight and rehydrates. It’s been part of boxing and wrestling for a long time. As long as he can make the weight, then more power to him. BUT fix ur game Mungia, u showed tons of flaws in ur defense, head movement was bad. If u step up to the elite fighters at 160’s with that defense ur gonna get hurtand bad.
@ Tony: good/accurate analysis and conclusions!
Munguia is a ticket seller, nothing more and nothing less. They will move him up to 160 and feed him a steady diet of bums all in a collision course effort to somehow face Canelo in an all Mexican cash out fight. Any of the top 10 at 160 would either comprehensively defeat or brutally knock out this kid. GGG could quite literally kill him.
hahahaha you so funny Chris the natural ..you Know nothing about boxing ..
Yeah, the pendejadas that he writes crack me up! The Natural? More like the The Na(turd)al!
All these haters is ridiculous. Quit your ass complaining about his size, about his defense, about his opposition! All promoters protect their asset period! He’s only 22 and already accomplished what many other boxers can only dream of becoming a world champion. And isn’t it the whole point of these fighters to sell tickets, they put their lives on the line to make a living! How you sell yourself as a fighter is another story. Fernando Beltran saw something special in this kid and knew he had a shot thereby making a deal with Golden Boy as a replacement against Ali after Mungia wasn’t allowed to fight GGG by the NSAC, when GGG was looking to find an opponent.
The point is Mungia is willing to make improvements, hits like a ton of bricks has a new trainer Terrible Morales improvements to be gradually seen hopefully, isn’t baby-sitting that belt (actively fighting- 5 title defenses) and if he moves up is because he can’t make weight so stop the BS about him not trying to unify the division. As a promoter I am sure they have these discussions and consider it to be at his best physically rather than drained to make weight on a division he’s outgrown.
The way they are bringing up this kid is just like any other fighter that has that “it” factor. You bring him up to quickly and you end up with a Fernando Vargas!
You Right Alley Cat all these haters talking shit only ….
You’re spot on alleycat unlike a lot of these so-called experts on this forum. It’s a pleasure reading an articulate writer’s observations that also takes the time to not sound like a simpleton!
Fighting any of the top dogs at 160 will be career ending for him. Canelo, GGG, Jacobs and Charlo will annihilate him and Andrade will give him a boxing lesson.