Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya was pleased with Jaime Munguia’s ninth-round TKO victory over John Ryder on Saturday night, and he’s now predicting that he’ll be “undisputed [super middleweight champion] very soon,” meaning that he’ll challenge Canelo Alvarez for his four titles and dethrone him.
Munguía Makes a Statement
Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs) did the job tonight against the 35-year-old Ryder (32-7, 18 KOs), knocking him down four times to force a corner stoppage at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Ryder’s poor ring generalship was his undoing tonight, as he was frequently up against the ropes and was rifled with rapid-fire shots from Munguia.
Three of Munguia’s knockdowns tonight were instances where Ryder had his back against the ropes, and he took advantage of it.
The victory for Munguia allows De La Hoya to brag that he did something that Canelo hadn’t been able to do last May when he was forced to go the full twelve-round decision to defeat him by a decision.
On the flip side. Beating Ryder after Canelo has softened him up prevents him from receiving full credit because he took a beating against Alvarez last year.
De La Hoya’s Vision
“Jaime Munguia will be undisputed very soon. Mark my words,” said Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya to Fight Hub TV, reacting to Jaime Munguia’s ninth-round TKO win over John Ryder in Phoenix, Arizona.
“I love the fact that it’s only the first fight with [trainer] Freddie [Roach]. I saw a lot of improvements. I saw a lot of moving of the head, jabs and on the toes.
“So, imagine if Freddie Roach has him training for two, four, five, six months. Several fights from now, Jaime Munguia will be a completely new fighter,” said De La Hoya.
Can Munguía Challenge Canelo?
Munguia can certainly challenge Canelo if the Mexican star wants to give him the opportunity on May 4th. Whether Munguia wins the fight is another matter. Based on how he fought tonight, this writer would have to say no. Ryder had Munguia hurt several times in the fight tonight, and he’s not a big puncher.
What Munguia should do if he doesn’t get the Canelo fight in May is face one of these four fighters:
– David Benavidez
– Caleb Plant
– David Morrell Jr.
– Diego Pacheco
