Glendale, Ariz. – Jaime Munguia has many choices hovering over him following Friday night’s final bell, but before he gets there, he has to make all the right moves from the first bell on to defeat an aggressive opponent in Erik Bazinyan.
“There’s a lot of things – God willing – that are coming my way, but I’m concentrating 100 percent on right now. That’s the important thing,” Munguia (43-1, 34 KOs) told BoxingScene after weighing in at 167.7 pounds while Canada’s Bazinyan (32-0-1, 23 KOs) was at 167.9 for the ESPN-televised super-middleweight bout at Desert Diamond Arena.
“I believe in my preparation. I believe in my team. It’s going to be a great fight. I need to concentrate on it, and then we’ll see what comes after.”
Munguia, 27, will need to choose whether he’ll remain with Friday night promoter Top Rank, who are already proposing exciting options for Canelo Alvarez’s recent title challenger, including a homecoming bout in Mexico, or Munguia could opt to return to Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.
“There’s a lot of things coming,” said Munguia, and by “things,” he likely means multi-fight financial packages. “We have to see what happens. We’re going to do what’s best for me and my career.”
He seeks an impressive victory over Bazinyan (ranked anywhere from seventh to second by the four sanctioning bodies) to boost his own positions.
For instance, Munguia is No. 2 in the WBC rankings behind unbeaten Christian Mbilli. Could Munguia leapfrog France’s Mbilli by defeating Bazinyan? Or does he move to a showdown with Mbilli, who’s also promoted by Top Rank, if Alvarez opts not to take his next-in-line mandatory?
Similarly, Munguia can shoot up from No. 5 in the WBO rankings considering Bazinyan, recent loser Edgar Berlanga and Mbilli, are between Munguia and top-ranked (and less-experienced) Diego Pacheco.
“Bazinyan has been bad his last couple of fights,” coming off a draw against little-known Shakeel Phinn in Montreal May 2, “and you’re only as good as your last fight,” Top Rank’s Hall of Fame matchmaker Brad Goodman said.
“Munguia brings a fan-friendly fighting style and he’s improved his boxing with (reunited trainer and Hall of Fame fighter) Erik Morales. He might be a little too aggressive when he fights. He gets hit. But it doesn’t seem to bother him.”
Munguia showed the reasons why another big crowd is expected after he filled Phoenix’s Footprint Center while stopping John Ryder in January and boosted his popularity by giving Alvarez an action bout in May before losing by unanimous decision.
On Friday, Munguia weighed in, flexed his biceps and roared, “Mexico!”
His spiraling popularity also makes him a strong candidate to fight whoever emerges from the IBF 168-pound title fight Oct. 19 in Germany between Cuba’s William Scull and Russia’s Vladimir Shishkin.
“First we have this big fight here,” Munguia said. “We have to win this fight to move forward and then see.
“Truth is, I feel very good – better than ever. It was an excellent weight cut. Now it’s time to rehydrate and recover and move forward.”
The ESPN portion of the card also includes 2021 U.S. Olympic heavyweight medalist Richard Torrez Jr. versus Joey Dawejko and Emiliano Fernando Vargas (11-0, 9 KOs) versus Larry Fryers in a 140-pound bout.
Vargas, 20, was joined by his trainer and former world-champion father, Fernando, at Friday’s weigh-in, and the elder Vargas soaked in the moment, confident that opening the ESPN is likely going to be the start of a special career from another talented Oxnard, Calif., fighter.
“We knew he would get here because he has better discipline than I had as a kid,” Fernando Vargas said. “He has everything necessary to be a world champion.
“He’s going to last a lot longer (than me) because he doesn’t drink, he doesn’t smoke, he doesn’t do drugs. He’s a disciplined fighter. The day I started (those vices) was the worst day of my life.”
Weights from Glendale:
Jaime Munguia (43-1, 34 KOs) 167.7 pounds vs. Erik Bazinyan (32-0-1, 23 KOs) 167.9, super-middleweights
Richard Torrez Jr. (10-0, 10 KOs) 232.6 vs. Joey Dawejko (28-11-4, 16 KOs), 244.1, heavyweights
Emiliano Vargas (11-0, 9 KOs), 139.2 vs. Larry Fryers (13-6-1, 5 KOs), 138.2, junior-welterweights
Charly Suarez (17-0, 9 KOs), 129.4 vs. Jorge Castaneda (17-3, 13 KOs), 129.1, junior-lightweights
Alan Garcia (14-0, 11 KOs), 137.3 vs. Ricardo Fernandez (15-13, 1 KO), 137.2, junior-welterweights
DJ Zamora (13-0, 9 KOs), 130.7 vs. Gerardo Antonio Perez (12-5-1, 3 KOs), 133.2 (overweight), junior-lightweights
Steven Navarro (3-0, 2 KOs), 115.2 vs. Oscar Arroyo (3-2, 2 KOs), 114.4, junior-bantamweights
Jorge Garcia Perez (30-4, 25 KOs) 156.2 vs. Ilias Essaoudi (22-1, 15 KOs), 156.6, junior middleweights
Sebastian Hernandez (16-0, 15 KOs), 120.4 vs. Yonfrez Parejo (24-6-1, 12 KOs), 125.
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.