Experts Chris Algieri and Paulie Malignaggi discussed a hypothetical match-up between WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion David Morrell Jr. and Jaime Munguia, viewing the champ as the clear winner.
Algieri and Malignaggi believe that the Cuban Morrell (10-0, 9 KOs) is too big, powerful, and technical for Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs).
Algieri doubts that Munguia’s promoters and management would ever let him fight Morrell, and they’re right.
They’ve brought him along slowly over 11 years as a pro, and they won’t mess up their handiwork right when Munguia is on the doorstep of a cash-out fight against Canelo Alvarez.
They note that the 27-year-old Munguia has more fights than the 25-year-old Morrell, but that advantage is outweighed by David’s amateur experience in Cuba, where he fought superior opposition.
Munguia is just now getting his teeth into world-level competition after ten years as a professional. He fought John Ryder last Saturday night in Phoenix.
The 35-year-old Ryder isn’t comparable to the fighters that Morrell fought at the amateur level, especially at his ripe age and coming off a beat down against Canelo Alvarez last May.
Munguia’s Vulnerability
“Munguia is way, way too hittable, and Morrell, with the class boxing that he’s had, with the Cuban boxing school that he comes from, and the aggressive manner in which he’s approached his career inside the ring,” said Paulie Malignaggi to ProBox TV, breaking down a hypothetical fight between Jaime Munguia and David Morrell Jr.
“He’s done some damage, as we’ve seen, unfortunately, to a fighter [Aidos Yerbossynuly] that ended up getting damaged, the Eastern European guy as well.
The way that Morrell punches would be a real problem for Munguia, who is a volume puncher and would be in the line of fire at all times each time he let his hands go.
“He’s [Morrell Jr.] a guy that is a rough, rough character, but he does it in a technical way. Munguia is a fun fighter. He likes to be aggressive. I think it’ll be a fun fight, but I can’t see Munguia matching up,” said Malignaggi.
Morrell’s Advantages
“I think Morrell might be bigger than Munguia. Let’s not forget that Munguia started at 154 lbs. Morrell is a naturally bigger guy, and that’ll come into play as well, especially a guy like Munguia, who likes to be physical.
“It’s much more difficult to be physical against a naturally bigger physical guy, a bigger guy physically. I think Munguia is technically outgunned as well. I think Morrell is a more technical fighter.”
Munguia is only physical in the clinch, as we saw against Ryder. Morrell doesn’t hold much, so there wouldn’t be many opportunities for Jaime to rough him up. When Morrell is in close, he’s throwing shots with a lot of power on them, and that’ll put pressure on Munguia to cover up while being bombarded.
“Like I said, Munguia makes it fun. It’ll be an exciting fight and a match-up that you will want to watch,” said Malignaggi.
“I agree. David Morrell [wins]. Even in the Ryder fight, as good as Munguia looked, when Ryder fired back with some of those right hooks early on, it made Munguia think, and Munguia is a slow thinker, and Morrell does everything fast,” said Chris Algieri.
Power Dynamics
“He’s [Morrell] got power, he’s physical, he’s long. We haven’t seen him at that level with a guy [Munguia] of that top pedigree, but it doesn’t matter. His conditioning is fantastic. He controls the pace greatly. He’s got that huge amateur background, and he’s big, fast, and technical.”
There’s no question that Morrell is the bigger puncher with both hands than Munguia and more powerful than anyone he’s faced during his 11-year professional career.
Munguia was stunned several times by Ryder, who isn’t known for his power, last weekend. We also saw Munguia hurt in his fights against Gary ‘O’Sullivan and Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
“I think the lapses in Munguia’s defense and his inability to think fast would keep him behind against a guy like Morrell, who has a deep bag of tricks, and we haven’t even seen how deep,” said Algieri.
Experience Questioned
“So, the only thing Munguia holds over him is professional experience, but I see Morrell being more physical and a better boxer in general,” said Algieri.
Munguia’s experience is limited to lesser opposition, considering of these fighters:
– Sergiy Derevyanchenko: 38
– John Ryder: 35
– Gabriel Rosado: 38
– Sadam Ali
– Dennis Hogan
– Tureano Johnson: 39
– Liam Smith
“That professional experience, a lot of it isn’t at the high enough level,” said Malignaggi about Munguia. “Let’s face it, Morrell has been in the amateurs in Cuba, and probably the more professional experience that Munguia has is easily overcome by the amateur experience Morrell has having had that experience in Cuba and having defected.
“So, he had a much more difficult time of it in opposition in his early life than Munguia, who turned pro young and came up the ladder, and has become a very good fighter.
Overall Prediction
“Again, I think the bottom line is that he’s not as good a fighter. He can’t make up for it physically,” said Malignaggi about Munguia.
“Munguia, at this point, you see the size difference. He bullies a lot of guys. He’s not going to be able to bully a guy like Morrell,” said Algieri. “Morrell is physically strong, and he has power.
“Honestly, I could see Morrell cutting Munguia up and eventually stopping him. He might even be able to hurt him. Very good body shots. He’s very precise with his punches. He’s very explosive.
“That’s a very tough task for Munguia, and I would be very, very surprised if that fight were to ever happen because they know what the deal is,” said Algieri.
Munguia will find it impossible to win against Morrell. However, the fight will never happen because Munguia’s promoters at Golden Boy aren’t going to make this match.
They’re going to keep Munguia protected until they get the Canelo fight. If Munguia loses, which is likely, they’ll return to matching him against lesser opposition to rapidly rebuild him, hoping Canelo will give him another shot, which would be a useless pipedream, but they’ll still likely keep Munguia away from the talented opposition until it’s clear that there’s no chance for a second payday.
