By Dan Ambrose: Jaime Munguia hopes to challenge IBF/WBA middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin or WBC belt holder Jermall Charlo in 2023 after he faces Gonzalo Gaston Coria this Saturday night on November 19th on DAZN in Guadalajara, Mexico.
With Jermall inactive for the last year and a half, the odds of Munguia getting a fight against him next year are less than zero. It will not happen because it’s too risky for Charlo to take on Munguia at this point in his career.
Munguia will be fighting the Argentinian Coria (21-5, 8 KOs) in a 10 round bout in the main event live on DAZN. Interestingly, DAZN is willing to have this fight as the headliner because Coria isn’t a ranked contender, and he’s not well known, even with hardcore boxing fans.
Munguia is 26 and has been in the pro ranks for around ten years, and yet he’s still facing lower-level opposition after all this time. It seems like a waste of a career, but then again, if Munguia had stepped it up years ago, he likely would have been repeatedly beaten and would be nowhere now.
Munguia’s opposition at 160:
- Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan
- Jimmy ‘Kilrain’ Kelly
- D’Mitrius Ballard
- Gabriel Rosado
- Tureano Johnson
- Kamil Szeremeta
To bring the subscribers, DAZN should have insisted that Munguia fight a well-known middleweight rather than an obscure guy that was knocked out in the past in two rounds by Zhanibek Alimkhanuly in 2020 and shutout by Fiodor Czerkaszyn in a one-sided 10 round unanimous decision loss in 2021.
Munguia could have already challenged for a world title against former WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade but opted not to take that fight for obvious reasons. Andrade is on another level and likely would have beaten Munguia and wrecked his chances of getting a shot at Golovkin.
Without the IBF or WBA ordering Golovkin to defend against Munguia, we probably won’t see that fight in 2023. It’s believed by some boxing fans that the 40-year-old Golovkin is going to finish up his career after a couple more easy fights, and Munguia would be a headache for him at his age.
“Yes, [still interested in fighting Golovkin]. In the last fight he had with Canelo, GGG made it clear that he is still a great fighter, that he is still strong, and that he is still valid,” said Jaime Munguia to DAZN about wanting to fight Golovkin.
“He had a great fight with Canelo, and I think he and I could have a great fight. Besides, he is the champion, one of the champions at 160 pounds, and if it’s with him, I would like to fight for the world championship.
“The fighters I want to face are Golovkin or [Jermall] Charlo at 160 pounds.
“We’re going to try to make the best of this fight, keep learning, keep working for when the expected fight comes,” said Munguia.
“I think the most weight I lost from one day to the next was ten or eleven pounds. Obviously, there’s a process with a nutritionist. Also, the dehydration after the weigh-in is really important because you can’t just start eating like crazy whatever you fancy,” said Munguia.
