Via Dan Ambrose: Golden Boy Promotion boss Oscar De La Hoya says he wants to do a bout between Jaime Munguia and IBF middleweight champion Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin. De La Hoya believes that the Golovkni vs. Munguia will be the “battle of the year” when it happens.
Munguia has not yet shown the ability to compete with a boxer of Golovkin’s caliber. Last Saturday, Munguia looked slow to beat little-known D’Mitrius Ballard with a knockout in the third round.
It’s unclear where the Golden Boy found Ballard, but as bad as Munguia looks, it’s a good thing they used him as an opponent. If Munguia fights a good middleweight, he loses.
Jaime needs to be active at 168 years old because his body is too big for 160 lb.
Unfortunately, there is little chance that Munguia (39-0.31 KOs) will win the title against Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) in 2022. Golovkin will face Ryota Murata in April, and then, depending on the success of the negotiations, GGG will face Canelo Alvarez on September 17.
Munguia needs to face the undead at the age of 160
It would be nice for Munguia to be busy earning a title against Golovkin by defeating Janibek Alimkhanuly rather than waiting for a teamfight based on a win over a weak opponent.
At least if Munguia beats Janibek, De La Hoya can tell fans that he won the title, not based on victory over these boxers:
- Gabe Rosado 36 years old
- Tureano Johnson 38 years old
- Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan, 37 years old
- D’Mitrius Ballard
- Kamil Szeremeta
If the goal is to Munguia a withdraw moneythat he has no chance of winning against Golovkin, which is not very reassuring.
Some boxing fans might enjoy the idea of Golovkin and Munguia going up against each other, but that doesn’t make much sense given the poor opponent Jaime had to face in middleweight to get that fight.
Munguia has been ranked highly with WBC and WBO at 160 based on wins over the likely to beat. It would be understandable for Munguia to be ranked 1 with WBC and WBO if he beat Zhanibek Alimkhanuly, Chris Eubank Jr or Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
Granted, Munguia never beat anyone famous during his two years as the middleweight WBO middleweight champion, but he had an excuse back then because there weren’t many quality fighters in the mix. department at that time.
“I feel that a war between Jaime Munguia – GGG in the near future De La Hoya said to The Walkway To Fight Club.
“Jaime Munguia, a ruthless puncher. He has so many hearts. He has a great fan-friendly style that can only make for a great match against Gennadiy Golovkin,” said De La Hoya.
Now that Munguia is fighting at 160, he has a chance to face Jermall Charlo and Demetrius Andrade, and he hasn’t taken advantage of it.
That is understandable coming from a boxer preparing for his opening match against Golovkin, but still pathetic if that is the goal of the undefeated Munguia.
De La Hoya has not helped Munguia by pairing him with a weak opponent in the past two years since his move to middleweight.
De La Hoya said: “We know Golovkin as someone who never shied away from a challenge.
“He’s always come forward, front, full of their action. So We really feel that the battle between Jaime Munguia and GGG will be epic for both boys,” De La Hoya said.
Instead of De La Hoya pitting Munguia against a talented 160-year-old like Janibek Alimkhanuly, Chris Eubank Jr, Demetrius Andrade, Jermall Charlo, or even Sergiy Derevyanchenko, he was fed these junior opponents:
- D’Mitrius Ballard
- Gabe Rosado
- Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan
- Tureano Johnson
- Kamil Szeremeta
Munguia’s fight last Saturday night on DAZN was against Ballard, who is NOT ranked in the top 15 by any of the four sanctioning bodies. Why the Golden Boy was going up against Munguia with an unyielding one in Ballard is a magical question.
Munguia stops Ballard in the third round at Bullring at the Sea in Tijuana, Mexico.
