ESPN’s Salvador Rodriguez reports that super middleweight contender Jaime Munguia and current promoter Zanfer have signed a “multi-fight” deal with Top Rank, the first of which sees Munguia face Erik Bazinyan on September 20th.
Munguia (43-1, 34 KO), a former titlist at 160, fell well short of claiming two-division glory in May when Canelo Alvarez floored him for the first time en route to a one-sided decision win. As Scott said, Bazinyan (32-0-1, 23 KO) is a solid bounce-back opponent; he was lucky to escape with a draw against Shakeel Phinn last time out, but he’s far from a gimme and has the style to produce a very watchable fight.
That said, the real intrigue lies in what comes after. Outside of partnerships with Eye of the Tiger and others, Top Rank’s in-house super middleweight roster begins and ends with Christian Mbilli, who battles Sergiy Derevyanchenko in the coming weeks. If both men emerge victorious, a Munguia vs Mbilli showdown has legitimate Fight of the Year potential.
We’ll let you know when and if they make the partnership official.