Jaime Munguia makes a first appearance of 2024 this Saturday at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, and the Mexican defends his WBC Silver super middleweight title against two-time former world title challenger, John Ryder.
DAZN televise vs Munguia vs Ryder live worldwide.
Munguia (42-0, 33 KOs) saw his star swiftly rise in 2018, as he ripped the WBO super welterweight title from Sadam Ali in a fourth round stoppage, and further enhanced his credentials by dropping and widely outscoring Liam Smith two months later. Since that time though, the Mexican has largely flattered to deceive.
Four low-key defences followed, and he then moved up to middleweight for seven straight wins against disappointing opposition, with only one contest going the distance, a 2021 twelve round decision victory against Gabriel Rosado.
Munguia’s sole contest of 2023 came last June, and this time it was a move to super middleweight, where he was given all he could handle by the teak-tough Sergey Derevyanchenko, and a final round knockdown for the 27-year-old was the difference, as he took the vacant belt he defends this weekend by one point on two scorecards.
He now meets the game Londoner Ryder (32-6, 18 KOs), who is coming off a spirited, but clear loss on the cards to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez last May.
Ryder was in the form of his life going into that bout in Mexico, having taken a split decision win against Daniel Jacobs, and a fourth round retirement victory over Zach Parker in 2022, and it depends on the scale of ambition he has left after a lucrative shot at Canelo, as to his chances against Munguia.
Prediction: This could be the type of fight that re-announces Munguia to the believers that he will be a pound-for-pound star, and at 27, time is still firmly on his side. I think after a frantic first few rounds, Munguia can pull out the stoppage down the stretch.
World title action on strong undercard
The undercard features two world title bouts. Oscar Collazo defends his WBO minimumweight title for a second time, as he puts his belt on the line against Reyneris Gutierrez.
Collazo (8-0, 6 KOs) won the title in May last year, forcing Melvin Jerusalem to retire after seven rounds, and the Puerto Rican defended in his homeland in August, retiring Garen Diagan after six.
Nicaragua’s Gutierrez (10-1, 2 KOs) fights at this level for the first time, and hasn’t set the world alight as a pro.
Prediction: Collazo can retain inside schedule.
Gabriela Fundora (12-0, 5 KOs) puts the IBF flyweight title on the line for a first time after winning the crown with a fifth round stoppage against Arely Mucino in October 2023, and the Californian should keep hold of the belt with a points win against the inexperienced Christina Cruz (6-0).
The moment Gabriela Fundora became a world champion 🤩
She defends her belt on January 27 👑#MunguiaRyder | Live on DAZN pic.twitter.com/vjcIVmhUcB
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 17, 2024
Remaining Undercard
The other scheduled ten rounder comes at super bantamweight, where Alan Picasso Romero (26-0-1, 15 KOs) may need the cards to seal victory against Erik Ruiz (17-9-1, 7 KOs), who has never previously been stopped.
In eight round action, Darius Fulghum (9-0, 9 KOs) can take the vacant WBA Intercontinental super middleweight title with an early win against Alantez Fox (28-5-1, 13 KOs), and Gregory Morales (15-1, 9 KOs) can do the same against Ronal Ron (14-4, 11 KOs) in their featherweight meeting.
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In six rounders, Gael Cabrera (3-0, 2 KOs) can take the battle of unbeatens at bantamweight against Miguel Ceballos (2-0, 2 KOs) inside schedule, and Daniel Garcia (7-0, 5 KOs) can halt Daniel Lugo (4-1, 1 KO) in their super featherweight affair.
The sole four rounder is at lightweight, where Jonathan Canas (2-0, 1 KO) can win early against the winless Kameeko Hall (0-3), who has been stopped twice in three outings.
